2026 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Week 2

Russell quickest as week two opens in Bahrain

Week two of testing began with a clearer competitive picture than anything we saw last week. The run plans looked more representative, the lap times arrived later in the day, and the gaps at the front were tight.

George Russell finished fastest on a 1:33.459, just 0.010s ahead of Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc was third, with the top six covered by less than a second.

Week 2 – Day 1 classification

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.459	76
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:33.469	70
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:33.739	70
4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:34.052	54
5	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:34.158	69
6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	1:34.260	66
7	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:34.299	44
8	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:35.113	55
9	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:35.254	60
10	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:35.263	71
11	Alex Albon	Williams	1:35.690	55
12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:35.753	61
13	Ollie Bearman	Haas	1:35.778	42
14	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:35.898	61
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:35.974	26
16	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:36.418	65
17	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:36.536	28
18	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:36.741	49
19	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:36.769	75
20	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:36.798	35
21	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:38.191	24

Mercedes

Russell’s lap came late in the session under stable conditions. More importantly, Mercedes combined that pace with the highest mileage of the day.

When they topped the final day of week one without convincing everyone they were truly fastest, the W17 looked tidy but not necessarily dominant. On Wednesday it looked more settled through high-speed changes of direction and stable under traction.

That suggests the operating window is better understood now.

McLaren

Piastri missed the top spot by a fraction, but the more relevant detail is how consistent the MCL continues to look.

The car rotates cleanly in slower corners and remains stable on exit. That backs up what we saw early in testing, when heavy mileage revealed more than isolated fastest laps. McLaren do not look like they are searching for balance.

Ferrari

Leclerc set the early benchmark and stayed within three tenths of Russell by the end of the day.

The car appears stable across repeated runs, though not quite as sharp as the Mercedes through rapid direction changes. Hamilton’s lower lap count suggests Ferrari did not have a completely clean afternoon, and week two leaves less room for lost track time.

Red Bull

Isack Hadjar handled the full day while Max Verstappen did not drive. The programme appeared focused on system work rather than headline pace.

There were competitive sectors, but no clear attempt to show a qualifying-style run. That makes them difficult to place on the day-one evidence alone.