Pre-Season Testing 2026

F1 Testing Results: Bahrain timesheets and laps as Max Verstappen stops Mercedes dominance

Sam Cook Wednesday 11 February 2026 13:17

Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli, Red Bull, Mercedes, Bahrain, 2026

The first official pre-season F1 testing session of 2026 has been completed, with Max Verstappen topping the timesheets at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Bahrain is playing host to pre-season testing this week, following a private shakedown last month in Barcelona in which limited data was available to fans.

But this week, all three days will have timings and lap counts released, as well as live coverage for the final hour being shown. And during the morning session on day one, it was Verstappen who was fastest in his RB22.

Verstappen set a time almost two tenths quicker than Oscar Piastri, with the world championship-winning McLaren team from last year looking to bounce back from a fairly disappointing Barcelona shakedown.

Mercedes' George Russell was third on the timesheet during day one's morning session, almost seven tenths off Verstappen's time despite all of the rumours of Mercedes dominance that have been sweeping the off season.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton raced the SF-26 around the track on Wednesday morning and finished in fourth, exactly one second off Verstappen's time, but he did manage an impressive 52 laps.

It was Williams' Carlos Sainz who put in the most laps during the morning, however, a whopping 77, as they look to make up for lost time having missed the Barcelona shakedown last month.

The only red flag of the first official pre-season testing session was caused early on by Franco Colapinto, whose Alpine came to a halt on the track, but the team did get him back up and running, and he completed 28 laps throughout the morning.

F1 TESTING 2026: Bahrain schedule, start times and how to watch live

F1 testing results: Bahrain day one

F1 Pre-season testing results: Day one, morning session
Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps completed
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:35.433	65 laps
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:35.602	54 laps
3	George Russell	Mercedes	1:36.108	56 laps
4	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:36.433	52 laps
5	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:37.169	64 laps
6	Arvid Linblad	Racing Bulls	1:37.954	75 laps
7	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:38.221	77 laps
8	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:38.871	49 laps
9	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:39.150	49 laps
10	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:39.883	33 laps
11	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:40.330	28 laps

Who's driving for the F1 teams in the afternoon session in Bahrain?

Bahrain F1 Testing Lineup
Team	Wed AM	Wed PM	Thu AM	Thu PM	Fri AM	Fri PM
McLaren	Piastri	Norris	Norris	Norris	Piastri	Piastri
Mercedes	Russell	Antonelli	Antonelli	Russell	Russell	Antonelli
Red Bull	Verstappen	Verstappen	Hadjar	Hadjar	Verstappen	Hadjar
Ferrari	Hamilton	Leclerc	TBC	TBC	TBC	TBC
Williams	Sainz	Albon	Albon	Sainz	Sainz	Albon
Racing Bulls	Lindblad	Lindblad	Lawson	Lindblad	Lawson	Lawson
Aston Martin	Stroll	Stroll	Alonso	Alonso	Stroll	Stroll
Haas	Ocon	Ocon	Bearman	Bearman	Bearman	Ocon
Audi	Bortoleto	Hulkenberg	Hulkenberg	Bortoleto	Bortoleto	Hulkenberg
Alpine	Colapinto	Gasly	Gasly	Gasly	Colapinto	Colapinto
Cadillac	Bottas	Perez	Perez	Bottas	Bottas	Perez