F1 TEST BAHRAIN, DAY 2: LECLERC LEADS NORRIS

The second day of testing in Bahrain is now in the books, a session far from smooth and marked by several technical setbacks that slowed the progress of some top teams. Day 2 in Sakhir exposed unexpected vulnerabilities, particularly for Red Bull and Mercedes, forcing both outfits to revise their schedules and priorities on the fly.

At Red Bull, Isack Hadjar became the unfortunate focal point of the day. The young Frenchman spent half of the session in the garage due to an assembly-related issue with the car, losing valuable track time at a crucial stage of preparation. Things were no easier at Mercedes, where power unit problems inevitably disrupted the team’s on-track program.

Kimi Antonelli was forced to forfeit his scheduled running entirely, effectively seeing his work slot wiped out. George Russell managed to complete 54 laps before ending his day early. The Brit posted a best time of 1:35.466, good enough for fourth overall, but the sense is that in Brackley the focus was more on solving issues than chasing outright performance.

The mood was equally tense at Aston Martin. Following yesterday’s Honda power unit replacement, Lance Stroll acknowledged that the gap to the front is hovering around four seconds. A significant deficit, reflected in Fernando Alonso’s penultimate time of the day, 3.975 seconds off the benchmark. A decidedly complicated start to testing for the Silverstone-based squad, now under pressure to respond quickly.

On the opposite end of the spectrum stood Charles Leclerc with a strong and convincing performance. The Monegasque driver put Ferrari at the top of the timesheets, completing 139 laps without encountering any technical issues. The SF-26 looked more balanced and predictable compared to Day 1, an encouraging sign for the Maranello team. His best lap of 1:34.273 placed him 0.511 seconds clear of Lando Norris’ McLaren, with the Brit completing an intensive 149 laps, and 1.121 seconds ahead of Ollie Bearman’s Haas.

Russell and Hadjar (+2.288) rounded out the top five in a classification that must be viewed with caution but still offers interesting insights. Notably absent from the track all day were Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who handed driving duties to their respective teammates as part of the planned test rotation.

Between encouraging signs, technical setbacks, and revised run plans, the second day of testing once again underscored how thin the line remains between confidence and uncertainty.

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