Bahrain F1 test: Antonelli leads Mercedes 1-2 on final day

Mercedes finished on top of the times in Bahrain on Friday, as the first of two Formula 1 tests ahead of the start of the 2026 season came to a close.

After George Russell had gone quickest in the morning, team-mate Kimi Antonelli took over the car and went even faster, ending the day with the best lap of the week, a 1:33.669sec.

The Italian didn’t match Russell’s mileage, but still enjoyed a much more productive day than yesterday, when an engine problem confined him to spending the morning in the garage before his team-mate took over.

Russell’s morning time was good enough for second fastest to complete a Mercedes 1-2 at the head of the times.

Despite setting the quickest times, the consensus among rivals was that Mercedes was “hiding a massive amount” of pace, in the words of Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari, meanwhile, continued to run reliably, the Italian squad covering over 130 laps for the third day in a row, this time with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel.

Hamilton triggered the second red flag of the day when he stopped on track with just a few minutes of the session left.

The seven-time champion wound up third quickest ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who was the British team’s sole driver for the day.

The Australian set the record for the most laps in a single day this week, with over 150, nearly three grand prix distances.

Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar shared driving duties at Red Bull, the four-time champion running in the morning before being replaced by the Frenchman.

The Red Bull finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as the team wrapped up its programme with nearly 120 laps covered.

Aston Martin had another difficult day, Lance Stroll spending most of the afternoon in the garage before heading back out with around 45 minutes of the session to go.

The Canadian still managed well over a grand prix distance, but was over four seconds off the pace as the British squad continued to struggle for pace.

Stroll only outpaced the Cadillac duo of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, the Mexican taking over the car for the afternoon.

Testing in Bahrain resumes next Wednesday for the final three-day run before the season-opener in Australia.

Bahrain F1 test: Day 3 times