2026 Bahrain pre-season testing – week 2 – day 2 recap

Antonelli fastest as testing nears its end

Kimi Antonelli posted a 1:32.803 on the C3 compound late on Thursday afternoon, the quickest lap of pre-season testing so far. Oscar Piastri was 0.058 seconds behind in the McLaren, with Max Verstappen third after banking 139 laps across the full day.

It was the second consecutive session with a Mercedes on top, following George Russell's fastest time on the opening day of week two testing.

Week 2 – Day 2 classification

Mercedes: pace and mileage combined

Russell ran the morning, Antonelli the afternoon. Together they logged 156 trouble-free laps, a big step forward after reliability issues disrupted their first week.

Trackside chief Andrew Shovlin said the clean running helped the team recover lost ground. Toto Wolff described the car as feeling "decent," which by his standards counts as encouragement.

Antonelli got the lower-fuel running in the cooler evening conditions. Russell will get the same chance when he closes out testing on Friday afternoon.

Verstappen vs Piastri: the race sim battle

The most useful data of the day came from two simultaneous race simulations in the final two hours.

Verstappen completed a full 57-lap Bahrain Grand Prix distance on a C3-C2-C2 strategy. Piastri ran 56 laps on C3-C2-C1, opting for the harder compound in his final stint.

According to analysis from RacingNews365, Piastri averaged roughly a tenth per lap quicker. It's a small margin with plenty of variables, but it suggests McLaren are genuinely in the mix.

Zak Brown said on Thursday that McLaren expect to be in the leading four, though not at the front. Verstappen was brief afterwards: "Long day, a lot of driving, race run completed. All in all good, I think."

Ferrari test radical flip wing

The biggest talking point of the morning was Ferrari's new rear wing, which rotates 180 degrees into an upside-down position in straight-line mode. Lewis Hamilton ran it for five laps before the car returned to the garage.

Ferrari described it as a test item. The FIA confirmed it's legal. We'll have a full technical breakdown in a separate piece.

Hamilton's afternoon was more productive. He completed 78 laps in total and finished fourth, six tenths off Antonelli. His practice starts at the end of both sessions were notably sharp.

Aston Martin's troubles continue

Fernando Alonso managed 68 laps before stopping at the exit of Turn 4, triggering the only red flag of the day. Honda confirmed a battery-related issue was responsible.

The problem carried into Friday. Honda issued a statement revealing a shortage of power unit parts, forcing the team to limit the final day to short stints only. Stroll eventually completed just six laps before Aston Martin ended its test early.

Across six days, Aston Martin has completed around 334 laps. Six other teams exceeded that in three days. Alonso's best time was 4.6 seconds off the pace.

Alonso insisted the problems can be fixed. But the pattern of battery failures and parts shortages is concerning with Melbourne less than three weeks away.

Midfield running

Franco Colapinto was best of the rest in sixth for Alpine, completing 120 laps. Ocon called it a good day for the team.

Nico Hulkenberg ran the Audi in the afternoon and finished seventh. Bortoleto's morning was limited to 29 laps.

Liam Lawson banked 106 laps for Racing Bulls. It was his final day before handing the car to rookie Arvid Lindblad on Friday.

Alex Albon ran all day for Williams, logging 117 laps but remaining well off the leaders on pace. Cadillac's Perez was 14th, with Bottas 16th on the hardest compound.

Looking ahead

Friday is the last day of running before the season opener in Melbourne on March 8.

The consensus building in the paddock is that Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull form the top four. Behind them, Alpine, Audi, Haas, and Williams are scrapping over best-of-the-rest. Aston Martin are on their own, hoping Honda can sort the power unit before it counts.