F1 Testing Results 2026: Bahrain timesheets and laps as Mercedes pace evaporates

An image of Mercedes F1 drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in the paddock at the 2025 Belgian GP — Photo: © IMAGO

Pre-Season Testing 2026

F1 Testing Results: Bahrain timesheets and laps as Mercedes pace evaporates

Bahrain pre-season testing is officially underway

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 11 February 2026 17:13 Updated: 11:21

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The first official pre-season F1 testing day of 2026 has been completed, and Mercedes' pace from the Barcelona shakedown last month appears to have evaporated.

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 Mercedes topped two of the three days in which they were running.

But this week, all three days have timings and lap counts released, as well as live coverage for the final hour being shown. And on the first day, it was world champion Lando Norris who came out on top, with a time of 1:34.669.

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After Max Verstappen had topped the morning session, he finished the day in second place, behind Norris as he was in the championship race of 2025. However, the Dutchman did complete the most laps on day one, a whopping 136 in his RB22.

Meanwhile, the positivity surrounding Mercedes in the off-season did not play out on the first day of testing, with George Russell only managing sixth, and Kimi Antonelli down in 11th.

There were two red flags on day one in Bahrain, with Alpine's Franco Colapinto coming to a stop during the morning session, and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg having an issue during the afternoon. Both drivers were able to get back up and running, and completed plenty of laps, however.

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
Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps completed
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:34.669	58 laps
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:34.798	136 laps
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:35.190	28 laps
4	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:35.578	115 laps
5	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:35.602	54 laps
6	George Russell	Mercedes	1:36.108	56 laps
7	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:36.433	52 laps
8	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:36.765	49 laps
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:36.861	73 laps
10	Alex Albon	Williams	1:37.437	68 laps
11	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:37.629	30 laps
12	Arvid Linblad	Racing Bulls	1:37.954	75 laps
13	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:38.221	77 laps
14	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:38.828	58 laps
15	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:38.871	49 laps
16	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:39.150	49 laps
17	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:39.883	36 laps
18	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:40.330	28 laps

Who's driving for the F1 teams on Thursday in Bahrain?

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

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Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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