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2026 Formula 1 Bahrain Pre-Season 2
Feb 18, 2026 to Feb 20, 2026
| Bahrain International Circuit, BH
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Formula 1 Bahrain Pre-Season 2
F1 Bahrain pre-season testing live commentary and updates - day 6
Follow for updates of day six from F1 pre-season testing for the 2026 season in Bahrain
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12:20:10 pm
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AND THAT'S A WRAP FROM TESTING
Lots to unpack from these six days in Bahrain. Even for Aston Martin, who obviously left some unexpected items in the packing area.
That's it from us! We'll be back in a couple of weeks as the show gets on the road in Melbourne...
12:18:06 pm
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Here's some final shots from Ronald in the pitlane:
Photo by: Ronald Vording
Photo by: Ronald Vording
12:15:21 pm
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And here's the end-of-day report for your edification...
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12:14:16 pm
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LAP CHAMPS
Here's the top drivers listed by laps completed. Obviously some teams ran the same drivers all day, while others swapped at lunchtime.
1 Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 165 laps
2 Sainz (Williams) 141 laps
3 Leclerc (Ferrari) 132 laps
4 Gasly (Alpine) 118 laps
5 Bearman (Haas) 88 laps
=6 Ocon (Haas) 82 laps
=6 Russell (Mercedes) 82 laps
8 Bortoleto (Audi) 71 laps
9 Piastri (McLaren) 66 laps
10 Verstappen (Red Bull) 65 laps
11 Hulkenberg (Audi ) 64 láps
12 Perez (Cadillac) 61 laps
13 Hadjar (Red Bull) 59 laps
14 Antonelli (Mercedes) 49 laps
15 Norris (McLaren) 47 laps
16 Bottas (Cadillac) 38 laps
17 Stroll (Aston Martin) 6 laps
12:06:07 pm
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Various approaches to that practice start – some drivers trying harder than others at various points, including Norris, who got a very strong initial launch before backing right off well before Turn 1.
12:04:12 pm
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Only nine cars on the grid for the practice start – Cadillac and, of course, Aston Martin being the no-shows.
12:01:48 pm
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'luisthegreat' asks: "How many laps did Leclerc did in the 32's??? And how many of does are better than even the 2nd (Norris)?"
A very good question. Sadly I'm not at my regular workstation so I don't have a log to hand... At least five if you count the lap in the 31s.
11:55:17 am
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Well, that was fun while it lasted. Wasn't it? Hmm?
Now for the jolly japes of the start simulation. Time to get the comic music cued up – may I suggest 'Yakkety Sax', aka the Benny Hill theme.
Red flag
11:53:21 am
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Belay that, time has crept up on us and we're into the systems checks. Red flag.
11:52:43 am
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Norris not playing the one-lap performance game at the moment – he's 15 laps into a long run on hards.
But others are shaping up for performance runs – Russell, Verstappen, Gasly and Bearman all exiting on mediums.
11:48:59 am
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Bortoleto improves again, to 1m33.755s on C4s.
11:47:16 am
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Leclerc out on another new set of C4s. But it's 1m32.240s, not quite there again.
11:46:35 am
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Into the final 15 minutes and Arvid Lindblad has run 162 laps. It's entirely possible he might amass the equivalent of three complete Bahrain Grand Prix distances today.
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
11:41:33 am
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Leclerc going out again, on the C4 Pirellis by the look of it. Goes purple in the final sector but 'only' a 1m32.289s in the final reckoning. Those first two sectors were not his best.
11:37:22 am
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A new PB for Bortoleto, 1m34.215s on the C3 tyre.
11:33:54 am
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Amid that excitement, Gasly shaved around four tenths off his previous best with those softs – 1m33.421s.
11:32:49 am
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Not too many sparks flying from that Ferrari so it clearly wasn't carrying a big fuel load. We're certainly looking at more representative laps here, albeit with the usual caveats.
11:31:35 am
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Leclerc purpling again in S1 and S2. Clean through his previous 'bogey area' at T11 too.
Boom! 1m31.992s for Charles.
11:28:44 am
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Green S1 and S2 for Verstappen, this is looking neat... Yellow in S3 but still an improvement, 1m33.109s.
Slow-mo F1 TV replay shows what would doubtless have resulted in a track-limits ping on a GP weekend though.
11:27:23 am
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Bearman pushing again on new mediums, a PB of 1m33.487s. Gasly going out on new softs...
11:25:46 am
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Verstappen also out and rolling on the prototype Pirellis.
11:25:23 am
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Lindblad does his fastest lap of the day now, a 1m34.149 during a three-lap run on new mediums.
11:24:16 am
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Meanwhile, Ronald Vording has been perambulating along pitlane and has some Ferrari pictures:
Photo by: Ronald Vording
Photo by: Ronald Vording
11:22:47 am
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Russell improves to 1m33.197s although he's now rolling on the unmarked prototype cars.
11:20:26 am
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Gasly, meanwhile, has done another PB on new mediums: 1m33.816s.
11:19:41 am
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Leclerc back on track with new mediums and clocking up a purple first sector... purple second sector...
...
...
Just yellow in S3 but he improves to 1m32.297s.
11:04:06 am
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Norris heads back out on used mediums via a practice start at the end of the pitlane. I have to say, the 'cat bumhole' look of the rear crash structure with integrated light is going to take a bit of getting used to this year.
10:59:43 am
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Lindblad also does his fastest lap of the day, 1m34.376s, although he's on prototype tyres.
10:58:57 am
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Another PB for Bearman now, 1m33.920s on a new set of mediums.
10:58:30 am
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Leclerc purple again in sector one, and he's fast through sector two, but then he gets a tankslapper on in Turn11 and has to back out of it.
10:57:32 am
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Bortoleto has just done his fastest lap of the day, a humble 1m37.294s but he's on hards.
10:56:15 am
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1m33.324s for Verstappen there, another personal best. And intriguing because sector one was no great shakes, then he PB'd in S2 and S3. So, again, not showing the full hand.
10:54:38 am
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Verstappen out on new mediums and clearly building up for a push lap.
10:54:01 am
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Russell now five laps into his stint and has done a 1m36.495s last time around, so it'll be interesting to see if this is a push-cool-cool-push or something else.
10:52:51 am
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Bearman has abandoned ship and headed for the pits after a promisingly green first sector... ah, replays show him sailing past the apex at Turn 10 and ploughing over the run-off.
10:51:44 am
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Russell did a 1m33.842s, not far off his fastest of the day, on those used mediums.
10:50:30 am
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F1 TV showing some very good slow-mo replays of Norris's first sector. You can really see how lively the cars are at the back.
10:49:07 am
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Norris also out – new mediums. He has a twitch at Turn 4 but it's still a decent sector (a personal best, if not Leclerc-quick) so he presses on... green in the final two sectors. 1m32.871s, his fastest of the day. 0.216s off Leclerc but, again, clearly leaving a little something in the back pocket.
10:47:05 am
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George Russell out on scrubbed mediums – let's see what his agenda is...
10:46:12 am
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Bearman and Gasly do their fastest laps of the day, 1m33.959s and 1m34.333s respectively. They're on new mediums.
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By: Autosport Staff
Published: Feb 20, 2026, 4:20 PM
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