Bahrain F1 test: Verstappen tops busy first morning

Max Verstappen led the way in the opening morning of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain as all 11 teams shared the track for the first time in 2026.

As the first public test of the year kicked off, Red Bull driver Verstappen continued to showcase the reliability of the team’s new power unit, completing over 60 laps on his way to the quickest time of the morning.

Verstappen’s mileage was only outdone by the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Williams‘ Carlos Sainz as the British squad joined its rivals following its absence from the Barcelona shakedown.

The four-time world champion finished with a best time of 1:35.433sec, some three tenths of a second slower than the fastest lap in last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

McLaren‘s Oscar Piastri was second quickest, less than a two tenths behind Verstappen, with Mercedes driver George Russell in third in the Mercedes after 54 laps.

The morning session saw several small incidents as drivers continued to get to grips with the new cars.

Alpine ‘s Franco Colapinto caused the first and only red flag of the morning when he stopped on track between Turns 7 and 8.

Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari and Haas driver Esteban Ocon rounded out the top five as the majority of cars continued to run reliably.

Audi caused a stir with the introduction of a set of radically different sidepods from the ones with which the team had tested in Barcelona.

Colapinto and Aston Martin‘s Lance Stroll were the drivers with the fewest laps completed, with 33 and 28, respectively.

Bahrain F1 test – Morning times