F1 TEST BAHRAIN, DAY 4: RUSSELL SETS THE PACE

At the Bahrain Grand Prix circuit, venue of the upcoming round of the World Championship, the second Formula 1 winter testing session got underway. Eight dense, methodical, often quiet yet decisive hours that began to outline early hierarchies and, above all, to reveal the first signs of strain in terms of reliability.

At the top of the timesheets is George Russell, but the real protagonist is the invisible work of the teams.

The Mercedes driver stopped the clock at 1:33.459 on C3 tires with just over half an hour remaining, setting the benchmark of the day. A lap time that carries limited weight, as always in testing, yet reinforces a clear impression: Mercedes appears to have started 2026 on solid foundations.

Just 0.010 seconds behind him was Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. Seventy laps for the Australian and a technical program that delivered encouraging feedback for the Woking-based team. McLaren is here — and no longer seems willing to play the role of outsider.

Third fastest was Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari with a 1:33.739, 0.280 seconds off the lead. The Monegasque also completed 70 laps, with a significant portion of the morning devoted to a race simulation. This is where Maranello’s philosophy becomes clear: less focus on single-lap pace, greater emphasis on understanding the car’s behavior over long runs. Ferrari observes, analyzes, gathers data — and lets others take the headlines.

Fourth place went to reigning world champion Lando Norris, again in the McLaren, with a 1:34.052, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli, driving the second Mercedes, finished fifth in 1:34.158 after 69 laps. Combined with the team’s total of 145 laps, the numbers tell the story of a highly productive day for the Brackley squad.

The situation was more complex at Red Bull Racing. Isack Hadjar set the sixth-fastest time in 1:34.260, but his morning was disrupted by a technical issue that interrupted the planned program. The first reliability creaks are beginning to emerge, and they are not insignificant details at this stage of the season. However, the afternoon session allowed the team to recover part of the lost work.

Seventh was Lewis Hamilton, also for Ferrari, in 1:34.299. His session was heavily focused on aerodynamic testing: the SF-26 was repeatedly seen covered in flow-vis paint, a clear sign of detailed airflow mapping. Right now, it’s not about chasing lap time, but about deeply understanding the technical platform.

Rounding out the top ten were Carlos Sainz in the Williams, Franco Colapinto in the Alpine, and Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi, all within just under two seconds of the lead.

A more complicated situation unfolded at Aston Martin, which completed just 54 total laps between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. The “green machine” struggled to find continuity, and in testing, a lack of mileage is often more concerning than a gap on the stopwatch.

At the back was Cadillac, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez posting the 20th and 21st fastest times, respectively. The American outfit completed 59 laps overall — a modest tally that suggests a development path still in its early stages.

After the first day, the standings tell only part of the story. In winter testing, the winner isn’t the fastest — it’s the one who understands its car the best. And at Sakhir, more than the lap times, it is mileage, consistency, and the quality of work done away from the spotlight that truly speak volumes.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.