F1 Bahrain pre-season testing live commentary and updates - day 5
Follow for updates of day five from F1 pre-season testing for the 2026 season in Bahrain
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We'll find out tomorrow. Thank you for joining us for today's action and be sure to check back in tomorrow morning for the final day which starts at 7am GMT. Go well!
Having said no teams or drivers will likely go for glory runs, it is Antonelli who holds the fastest lap times for both the first and second Bahrain tests. Maybe we've already seen it and we don't realise it yet.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
So, one day left to learn, adapt and improve for the F1 teams and drivers before the serious business of the season starts (well, plus the three practice sessions at the Australian GP).
Assuming there are no late driver schedule changes, testing is over for Hamilton, Alonso, Albon, Lawson and Colapinto as they ran a full day today and will hand over to their respective team-mates for a full programme tomorrow.
Will any team opt for a glory run to grab the headlines and make others worry during the break between testing and the first round? Probably not, but here's hoping.
Just one more day to go in 2026 pre-season testing, or day nine of nine for the majority of teams who used their full allocation in Barcelona's shakedown.
For some teams, they will probably feel ready to go racing now, for others (Aston Martin) they could probably do with another nine days of testing.
Anyway, that's our lot for today for the on-track action as the drivers head to the pits. A good day for Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull for different reasons, a bad day for Aston Martin with another on-track stoppage.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Go! Go! Go! Hamilton in the Ferrari launches off the line the best to take the lead into Turn 1, just as he did at the end of the morning session. Is Ferrari pushing more than the others or do they have an edge when it comes to starts with these new power units? We'll know in just over two weeks when we get to Melbourne.
Piastri has got going again so we're back up to nine! Verstappen has got ahead of Ocon so he'll take pole position (classic) with Piastri right at the back.
So, nine becomes eight for the practice starts on the gird which is now headed by Ocon for Haas. They all line up on the grid and then, as planned, go around for an extra formation lap.
We've got nine cars taking part in this start test, we're just missing Audi's Hulkenberg and Aston Martin's Alonso. That is until Piastri pulls off the track on the inside of Turn 1 with what looks like a systems issue with his McLaren.
Red Bull is using every opportunity despite the red flag, as the front of Verstappen's car is splashed with flow vis paint as he circulates at a constant speed before pitting.
And that is effectively your lot, as a red flag is shown to begin the systems check tests.
Ferrari hasn't used its new flipping rear wing since trying it out earlier today, with Hamilton using its more conventional rear wing as he pops up to fourth on the times with a 1m33.408s on C3s.
Piastri is coming to the end of his race simulation appears to be struggling a major tyre life drop off at the end of his stints when compared to Verstappen. He's just about to get it in before the FIA systems control begins with 10 minutes to go in the session.
Hamilton gets a lap knitted together with a 1m33.689s on the C3s to go fifth, having just displaced Colapinto from that position who produced a 1m33.818s just moments earlier on the C5s.
Verstappen's race simulation is complete and he pits for a well-earned break having notched up 137 laps for Red Bull today. His neck will be feeling that tonight.
Hamilton had looked set to improve on his personal best but has to catch the rear of his Ferrari from stepping out through the final corner which pushes him off the track and he pits immediately.
Moments later, Lawson also runs off track at Turn 5 and skips over the gravel.
Lawson goes eighth quickest with a 1m34.532s using the C4 tyres, but it is short-lived as Ocon posts a 1m34.201s also on the C4s to take that same spot.
Albon goes eighth fastest with a 1m34.555s set on soft tyres. It is the first time today we've seen a C5 used by any driver. Only Williams (two sets), Aston Martin (two sets), Alpine (two sets) and Cadillac (one set) have selected them for this test.
Piastri pits for the second time on his race run just after locking up and running very close to the outside barrier at Turn 10. McLaren also tested out serving a five-second penalty during his stop... well, I guess it is testing after all! The Australian is back out on a set of hards to complete his race run.
Hamilton shakes it off and goes again to post a 1m33.928s, but does suffer a wide moment at Turn 10, so that puts him fifth and 1.1s off the pace set by Antonelli.
Colapinto suffers a huge lock up into the heavy braking zone of Turn 1 and cannot get his Alpine stopped in time so takes to the ample run-off there.
Hamilton the next to go off-track, as he locks up in his Ferrari into Turn 8 and has to give up on a lap.
And just like that, lap time improvements everywhere you look. Ocon goes eighth with a 1m34.644s for Haas, Albon is duly shuffled back one spot having put in a 1m34.984s for Williams and Lawson gets a second go for a quick lap with a 1m35.335s to go 12th for Racing Bulls.
Antonelli goes fastest! The Mercedes driver punches in a 1m32.803s on the C3 tyres to go quickest.
Verstappen pits to end the second stint of his race simulation, but it is a sticky left-front tyre which makes it a slow stop. But off he goes again on a fresh set of hard tyres with his Red Bull.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lawson locks up under braking into Turn 8 and has to back out of his lap - the Kiwi had been pushing for a personal best in his Racing Bull having put in 'green' mini sectors in up to that point meaning he was on a personal best.
Hamilton is back in the Ferrari garage with the mechanics working on the rear brakes of his car. It hasn't been a smooth day for the Italian squad, with just 65 laps completed today and no complete race simulation within that, even if they've made headlines with their rear wing.
It might be no surprise but it looks very much like day done at Aston Martin with no signs of activity outside of the garage with the screens up. Alonso did manage 68 laps before his stoppage but in truth it wasn't much to write home about. They've got one more day to try to fix everything they can before heading off to Melbourne.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Hamilton fancies another overtake as he hustles up behind Ocon in the Haas before getting on by.
On the race run front, both Verstappen and Piastri are on the hards for their second stints and there's little to choose between them. Verstappen, six laps further ahead on his race sim, is duly being caught by Piastri but the rate of degradation over the stint is evenly matched.
Pancake day was Tuesday but here Ferrari is delivering a flipping rear wing on Thursday. We were so close!
One for our UK followers, I suspect.
Elsewhere Antonelli has improved on his personal best but stays fourth with a 1m33.726s. Hamilton, on C2s, puts in his personal best of the day with a 1m36.413s.
Racing action everywhere you look! Piastri becomes the hunted as Hamilton, on fresher tyres, looks for a move on the McLaren driver. The Ferrari has to back out of it at Turn 4 but then gets the power down out of Turn 10 on the short straight to get ahead.
The Verstappen-Piastri couplet lasts a handful of laps before the Red Bull driver dives into the pits for a set of hard tyres after 16 laps on the C3s. Still, good data for all and how it feels to follow a race in close proximity.
Piastri, on his race run, is tucked up behind Verstappen and both are on long runs on the C3s with the McLaren driver's tyres seven laps younger. He's getting a perfect experience of what it is like following another car at racing speeds. Let's hope the feedback is positive.
Colapinto wakes up the timing screen with a new personal best of 1m34.622s on the C3 tyres to go seventh for Alpine.
Piastri practices a full and proper start sequence at the end of the pitlane to begin a race simulation. A lot of quick flicks and twists on his McLaren steering wheel to get the car ready to blast off and then off he goes. It is a smooth getaway - and with 1h45m to go today he's got plenty of time to get 57 laps in to simulate a Bahrain GP.
It is a long run for Verstappen so the lap-by-lap excitement is quelled for now. Still, Hamilton has ventured out for the first time in over an hour, so what can he provide us?
By: Autosport Staff
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