F1 Testing Results: Bahrain timesheets as Lewis Hamilton suffers late Ferrari blow

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Testing 2026

F1 Testing Results: Bahrain timesheets as Lewis Hamilton suffers late Ferrari blow

Lewis Hamilton was back out there for Ferrari on Friday

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 13 February 2026 17:20 Updated: 17:43

The final day of this week's pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit finished with a late red flag, as seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton came to a halt on track.

Hamilton completed 150 laps throughout the final day of the three-day testing session in Bahrain, and finished third on the day's timesheet, but his testing ended 10 minutes early with a failure for the SF-26. It's not yet known what caused the stoppage, but it did cut the other teams' running slightly short, with F1 wanting to fit in systems checks after that red flag.

Suggestions have already been made though that Hamilton deliberately run out of fuel so his team could check the response from the power unit.

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It was a day in which Mercedes fought back during testing, finishing one-two on the timesheet, with Kimi Antonelli just usurping team-mate George Russell.

Friday was the final day of the first three-day testing event in Bahrain, and teams were scrambling to try and get in as many laps as possible.

World champions McLaren did not show blistering pace, with Oscar Piastri finishing the day in fourth, but the Australian driver did complete 153 laps - the most that any driver has completed on a single day this year so far.

The only red flag of the morning session was caused by Valtteri Bottas, whose Cadillac stopped in the middle of the track but he was able to continue later on, with he and Sergio Perez putting in a decent amount of laps for the new team.

F1 testing results: Bahrain day three

F1 Pre-season testing results: Day three
Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps completed
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:33.669	49 laps
2	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.918	78 laps
3	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:34.209	150 laps
4	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:34.549	153 laps
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:35.341	61 laps
6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	1:35.610	53 laps
7	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:35.753	68 laps
8	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:35.806	137 laps
9	Ollie Bearman	Haas	1:35.972	70 laps
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:36.290	49 laps
11	Alex Albon	Williams	1:36.793	71 laps
12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:36.808	119 laps
13	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:37.186	68 laps
14	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:37.365	62 laps
15	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:37.536	60 laps
16	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:38.165	69 laps
17	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:38.772	37 laps

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

The 2026 F1 season gets underway on Friday, March 6, at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

FP1 will mark the first session of the season at 12:30pm local time (1:30am GMT), while qualifying will get underway on Saturday, March 7 at 4pm local time (5am GMT). Lights out for the first grand prix of the year is at 3pm local time (4am GMT).

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

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari pre-season testing