Charles Leclerc leads Lando Norris on first morning of final pre-season test in Bahrain

Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap time as pre-season testing resumed on Wednesday – the Ferrari driver leading the way from McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.

Leclerc worked his way down to a 1m 33.739s across the four hours of morning running at the Bahrain International Circuit, putting him three-tenths up on Norris and another tenth ahead of Antonelli.

All three will hand over to their respective team mates for the afternoon session in the Sakhir desert, with Hadjar currently the only driver scheduled to complete a full day of running aboard the Red Bull.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon was the first driver out on track when the green light switched on at the end of the pit lane at 1000 local time, with sizeable aerodynamic rakes – used to record valuable data – attached to plenty of cars.

Most other teams promptly followed suit, but Sergio Perez spent the opening hour or so stuck in the garage while Cadillac worked through sensor issues – his first installation lap coming around 75 minutes into the session.

As the morning progressed and drivers began to push the limits again, Nico Hulkenberg was seen dipping two wheels into the gravel after a slide, while both Fernando Alonso and sole 2026 rookie Arvid Lindblad both had wild moments through the final corner.

Behind the top three of Leclerc, Norris and Antonelli, Williams continued their recovery from missing the Barcelona Shakedown en route to P4 with Alex Albon, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and the aforementioned Hadjar – who lost a chunk of track time due to work being carried out on the Red Bull – completing the top six.

Seventh went to early-starter Ocon, from Aston Martin’s Alonso, Audi’s Hulkenberg and Racing Bulls’ Lindblad, who completed the most laps of the morning by charging his way through a race distance, with Perez bringing up the rear as he gradually got some laps on the board after those sensor delays.

Drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to run through the morning data, take a break for lunch and work towards their afternoon programmes – as touched on, 10 of the 11 teams deciding to split their days and give both racers time at the wheel.