Every Driver’s Fastest Lap Time in Bahrain

Testing for the 2026 Formula 1 season is complete, and after three days of intense running in the desert, the grid is beginning to show its hand. With a wave of new regulations dramatically changing the sport from the ground up, nobody quite knew what to expect, and the results have not disappointed.

Following the Barcelona shakedown back in January, the final round of testing in Bahrain gave teams their final opportunity to rack up meaningful mileage and stress-test their machinery ahead of yet another season of action. 11 teams will be on the grid for the first time in a decade, before attention turns to Melbourne and the Australian Grand Prix on the 8th of March.

In terms of laps completed, Mercedes led the way with 407 laps across the three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Racing Bulls (407) and Haas (404) were the next most active. At the other end of the scale, Aston Martin really struggled for track time as well as speed, a concern this deep into pre-season preparations. Fans are so concerned about the team that they have declared their season “over” before it has even begun.

When it comes to outright pace, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way. Kimi Antonelli continued his strong pre-season form for Mercedes coming in second fastest.

Oscar Piastri came in with the third-fastest lap, marginally ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris, who bagged fourth place on the leaderboard. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen delivered a solid round of testing, recording the fifth-best time overall.

Mercedes’ George Russell, who was second-fastest in last week’s round of testing, came in sixth, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton back in seventh.

Grid newcomers Cadillac endured a tough few days, as Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas could finish no back than 19th and 20th. Only the Aston Martin pairing of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso fared worse. Both teams will need to find quick answers to avoid a tough season ahead.

Charles Leclerc Remains Cautious Despite Being Fastest in Final Round of Testing

While Leclerc proved the pacesettler in the concluding testing session of the year, the Ferrari man refused to get carried away with his success.

“The test day was very smooth, we ran through our programme and tested all the things we planned to,” Lecrerc told the assembled media.

“In terms of performance, it’s still difficult to understand where we really stand because teams are hiding their true form, so it’s important not to focus too much on lap times and prepare for the first race.

“We will build step by step and try to understand how to extract the maximum from our car. We have a lot of data to analyse and we will see how things go.”

When Does the 2026 F1 Season Begin?

With testing now in the rear-view mirror, all attention moves to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, where the stopwatch will finally give way to points.

Testing can offer clues, but the tight, high-speed challenge of Albert Park will provide a very different examination of this season’s cars.

For all the hints of promise from Mercedes, the quiet confidence of McLaren, and the ever-lingering threat of Red Bull, nothing truly counts until the lights go out. After months of speculation and calculated experimentation in both the desert of Bahrain and Catalunya, Formula 1’s latest era is ready for its first outing of 2026.