Charles Leclerc
09:41
Whatever was being inspected on the back of the McLaren clearly wasn't a major concern as Piastri is back out there.
09:36
Mercedes has gotten its stricken car back to pitlane, though unlikely we'll see that back out on track with just under 90 minutes left in this session.
09:32
F1 boss urges “calm” over new rules as format shake-up considered
09:30
Ferrari mechanics are standing as a wall in front of the car in the garage right now.
09:22
The rear of Piastri's McLaren is getting a good looking at from mechanics. Possibly a problem there?
09:17
Green flag
And the red flag has been withdrawn.
09:16
Antonelli's Mercedes has been recovered, so should be getting underway soon.
09:12
Red flag
Session has been stopped.
09:12
Trouble for Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has stopped on track at Turn 10.
09:10
Bit busier out there just now, with Leclerc, Antonelli, Piastri, Ocon, Hadjar, Linblad, Hulkenberg, Perez out on track.
09:04
Antonelli completes another flying lap, but doesn't improve on his 1m33.916s. However, it was very close - a 1m34.000s.
09:01
Lap times after two hours
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 2: Day 3 (9am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m33.689s | 42 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m33.916s | 43 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.352s | 28 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m34.494s | 22 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.511s | 25 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.238s | 34 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m35.252s | 29 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m35.692s | 29 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.086s | 31 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m44.636s | 4 |
08:53
We've finally seen Cadillac on track again, with Perez completing a couple of laps. His tally is up to three in this session.
08:29
Read more on Aston's troubles
Aston Martin, as of this morning, has not even completed 400 laps in Bahrain this pre-season.
Check out Lewis Larkam's feature on Aston's troubles from a few days ago in light of its latest dramas.
After all the hype, will Aston Martin be the biggest flop of F1 2026?
Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin is recovered
08:28
Hulkenberg has a massive lock-up into Turn 1 in the Audi. Those tyres are about as round as a 50 pence piece now!
08:24
Antonelli fires in the best final sector of the day so far, but doesn't improve his time overall and stays third.
Meanwhile, Piastri just had a big lock-up into Turn 1.
08:23
Antonelli is on a big push lap, but made a mistake at Turn 4. He's carrying on, though.
08:19
Leclerc and Hulkenberg are the only drivers out on track right now. Very much looking at long running right now.
08:10
Honda engine update
"Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team.
"Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and a shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today's run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints."
08:09
Esteban Ocon is out on a set of intermediate tyres. Now, there doesn't look like there's going to be any rain. He looks to be evaluating how the active aero works in a wet situation.
08:06
Hadjar was on a flying lap, but locked up into Turn 8 and has had to abandon that tour.
08:04
Piastri completes another flying lap, but stays third in the McLaren.
08:00
Lap times after an hour
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 2: Day 3 (8am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m33.689s | 15 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m33.916s | 21 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.352s | 13 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m34.494s | 17 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.511s | 13 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m35.252s | 14 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.674s | 18 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m36.064s | 14 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.230s | 16 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | No time set | 1 |
07:54
Kimi Antonelli puts in a quicker lap and goes second-fastest with a 1m33.916s, leaving the Mercedes driver 0.227s off the pace.
Originally published by Crash.net —
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