At the 2026 Formula 1 pre‑season test in Bahrain, Mercedes driver George Russell set the fastest lap so far, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by just 0.01 seconds.
Russell’s time of 1:33.459 was slightly quicker than Piastri’s 1:33.469, putting Mercedes at the top of the timing sheet early in the second week of testing.
Several top teams had problems during the session: Ferrari saw Lewis Hamilton limited due to a technical issue, Red Bull struggled with cooling‑related problems, and Aston Martin spent long periods in the garage before a spin brought out a red flag.
The gap between the front runners and midfield teams remained large, with Williams, Alpine, Audi and Racing Bulls further down the timesheets as they continued testing and development work.
Testing continues as all teams prepare for the start of the new F1 season, using these sessions to refine their cars under different conditions.