Charles Leclerc has ended the final day of 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain at the top of the timesheets, heading Lando Norris and Max Verstappen as Friday’s running brought the second test to a close.
After Leclerc had previously set the pace during the morning session, the drivers and teams returned to action at 1500 local time for a last chance to get some mileage before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.
While it was a quiet start when the green light appeared to signal the start of the session – with some teams preparing to swap drivers – cars soon started to emerge on track, including the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.
It had already been confirmed via a statement from Honda earlier in the day, however, that the British outfit would have a “very limited” run plan on Friday due to a battery-related issue curtailing Fernando Alonso’s running on Thursday.
As such, while others continued on with their programmes throughout the afternoon, Aston Martin confirmed that they had completed their programme for the day with just over two hours still remaining in the session, Stroll completing just six non-timed laps throughout Friday.
Another name missing out on track time was Norris, who was still yet to emerge as the session neared the halfway mark after McLaren opted to carry out work on their challenger following the morning’s running, during which Oscar Piastri had been at the wheel. The Briton subsequently headed out in the MCL40, however, with two hours still left on the clock.
Leclerc further lowered his earlier benchmark as he continued his full day in the SF-26, the Monegasque sitting at the top on a 1m 33.629s midway through the afternoon, while others completed lengthy stints included Williams’ Carlos Sainz and rookie Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls machine.
As the day progressed and more representative conditions kicked in, several drivers looked to be pushing out on track at the Bahrain International Circuit – including Leclerc, who had a wide moment as he pumped in another lap, having gone even faster at the top on a 1m 32.655s.
Sainz, meanwhile, became the first to bolt on a set of the C5 soft tyres in the latter stages of the session, with a range of programmes playing out across the pack as others seemingly focused on race simulations amid a busy end to Friday’s running.
In a repeat of what had taken place at the end of Day 1 and Day 2 of the second test, a new practice race start lights procedure was held before the chequered flag fell on Day 3. But prior to that, Leclerc had worked his way down to a 1m 31.992s, ending the day on top with a margin of 0.879s from Norris – as well as holding the accolade of the fastest time of the whole test.
Verstappen placed in third for Red Bull, ahead of George Russell – who boosted Mercedes’ mileage after team mate Kimi Antonelli stopped on track with a pneumatic issue in the morning – while Pierre Gasly was fifth in the Alpine.
Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi, Antonelli, Lindblad and Sainz completed the top 10, with Lindblad also holding the day’s highest lap count of 165. Piastri claimed 11th on the timesheets, followed by the Haas of Esteban Ocon and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez slotted into P14 and P16 respectively, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg sandwiched between them. Stroll classified in P17, having not set a timed lap during his running, while five drivers did not participate as their team mates completed the day’s programme.
With 2026 pre-season testing now complete, the cars will next be seen on track in Melbourne when the 24-round calendar kicks off in two weeks’ time.
/16x9%20single%20image.webp?ssl=1&description=Charles%20Leclerc%20fastest%20on%20final%20day%20of%20Bahrain%20pre-season%20test%20ahead%20of%20Lando%20Norris%20and%20Max%20Verstappen){kind=link}