George Russell maintains Mercedes’ lead during F1 testing, while McLaren and Ferrari hint at competitive speed.
George Russell secured Mercedes’ position at the top of the timesheets as the final week of preseason testing commenced in Bahrain on Wednesday.
The third and concluding preseason test is being conducted over three days at the Bahrain International Circuit in preparation for the opening race of 2026 in Australia on March 8.
Russell’s fastest lap of 1:33.459 marked the quickest time recorded by any driver during this preseason testing in Bahrain, narrowly surpassing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who was just 0.010 seconds slower in second place.
While comparing testing lap times comes with the usual considerations regarding unknown fuel loads, engine settings, and varying conditions throughout the day, a clearer competitive hierarchy is anticipated to develop this week.
Similar to last week, Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull seem to be the leading four teams, although there is insufficient evidence to identify a definitive frontrunner.
Russell achieved his time on the C3 compound tyres during the final hour of the session after sunset, when the floodlights were activated. Piastri also recorded his time on the C3 tyres, approximately 90 minutes earlier as the sun was setting.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed the third position with a time that was 0.280 seconds slower than Russell’s Mercedes. Leclerc’s lap was completed in the morning session when track conditions are generally less favorable, and a subsequent issue with the Ferrari limited teammate Lewis Hamilton’s running during the afternoon’s better conditions.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar clocked the sixth fastest time overall, 0.791 seconds behind the leading Mercedes, but he missed a significant portion of the morning session while Red Bull addressed a problem with his car. He concluded the day with a relatively low lap count of 66 and has just one morning left of testing on Friday before traveling to Australia for the first race.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz led the competition behind the top four teams with the eighth fastest time, 1.654 seconds off Russell’s best. Sainz’s lap was 0.141 seconds quicker than the Alpine of Franco Colapinto in ninth and 0.150 seconds faster than the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto in tenth.
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Liam Lawson finished 12th overall for Racing Bulls, 0.640 seconds behind Sainz, while Oliver Bearman’s Haas was 13th fastest, 0.665 seconds off the Williams.
Aston Martin’s challenging start to the new regulations continued as a Honda engine issue restricted Fernando Alonso to 28 laps in the morning, and Lance Stroll managed only 26 laps in the afternoon. Stroll caused the only red flag of the day when he spun at Turn 11 and became stuck in the gravel.
His best lap time was 2.515 seconds slower than Russell’s fastest time, indicating an improvement from the four-second deficit Aston Martin faced at last week’s test, but still leaving the team trailing the front of the midfield.
Cadillac recorded the slowest time among the 11 teams on Wednesday, with Valtteri Bottas 3.339 seconds behind Russell and 0.824 seconds off Stroll’s best effort.
Wednesday’s test session concluded ten minutes early to allow the FIA to test a new start sequence that provides additional time for drivers to prepare their cars before the lights go out.
Executing a clean start has been complicated this year due to the need to spool the car’s turbo with the V6 engine instead of the battery-driven MGU-H, which has been eliminated under the new regulations.
The procedure trialed on Wednesday introduces an extra five seconds between the moment the last car arrives on the grid and the illumination of the first of the five lights.
While not all cars achieved a perfect start, the new method seemed to provide drivers with sufficient time to launch without activating their car’s anti-stall system.
The final two days of preseason testing will occur in Bahrain on Thursday and Friday before the teams head to Australia for the season’s opening race on March 8.
Source: espn.com
