F1 Bahrain pre-season testing live commentary and updates - day 4
Follow along for updates on the first day of F1's second 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain
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Alonso has been spotted in Aston's hospitality getting into his lunch so we can presume that is also an early end to his morning's running.
Meanwhile, Antonelli has just overtaken Albon up the inside into Turn 13 which is not a place we are used to seeing passes made. Albon didn't put up much of a fight so we can't say if it was genuine, but we've been told to be ready to see overtakes at unusual spots.
Red Bull has been stuck in the garage for coming up to a couple of hours due to a pressure problem with one of the coolant circuits in the engine. The team is confident of fixing the issue, but it is a lengthy task to complete - hence the long period of pause.
In cased you missed it, here's a handy video guide to everything we learned from the first Bahrain test and what to look out for at the second test.
Watch: Autosport Explains: F1 Testing Update
Back on the track and Leclerc pits at the end of a stint on the test tyre, engages a practice launch from the pitbox and then immediately hits the anchors to stop and be pulled into the garage by the Ferrari mechanics. All part of the plan, even if it looked a little uncertain when it happened live.
The meeting is still ongoing but the key findings will be if there's an agreement to make rule changes to ease concerns raised following the first test in Bahrain. For example, changing the start race procedure to provide time for all drivers to spool up enough energy to charge the battery for the race start. But if one engine manufacturer can do it quicker and more efficient than others, they may not wish to give a free edge to rivals.
To briefly take attention away from what is happening on the track today, an F1 Commission meeting is being held this morning and at the top of the agenda is concerns over these new cars regarding starts, overtaking and lift and coast on the straights. McLaren boss Andrea Stella summed up the situation at the end of the first Bahrain test here:
Leclerc dips two wheels across the gravel exiting Turn 4 on his race run as his tyres begin to cry enough on this stint. The Ferrari driver is on the test tyre to give us an extra element of guess work in terms of what is performance and what is sandbagging.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images
But we are without Hadjar in the Red Bull who has not been out on the track for around 90 minutes now.
Thank you Ben Vinel for overseeing a fine morning stint, this test is already flying by with just a final hour to go in this morning session before the lunch break. Plenty of long-run stints going on at the moment as the peak heat of the day starts to hit.
Four cars in the top five and 175 laps completed as we write this – a decent morning for Mercedes-powered outfits so far.
Lap tally average per team for engine manufacturers:
Mercedes 42
Audi 37
Ferrari 33
Red Bull Ford 32
Honda 28
A bit of a meaningless stat given Mercedes supplies four teams while Honda and Audi have one, but it's reasonably close.
Huge lock-up from Norris, who went wide into Turn 10 and didn't even attempt to reach the apex.
Lap tally:
Racing Bulls 51 (Lindblad)
McLaren 48 (Norris)
Mercedes 47 (Antonelli)
Haas 44 (Ocon)
Ferrari 43 (Leclerc)
Alpine 39 (Gasly)
Audi 37 (Hulkenberg)
Williams 35 (Albon)
Aston Martin 28 (Alonso)
Red Bull 13 (Hadjar)
Cadillac 12 (Perez)
Perez improves in sector one but laps half a second off his best.
Antonelli had a wobble as he attempted to get the power down on the kerb at the exit of Turn 10.
The Cadillac driver goes down to 1m40.892s.
Perez improves in none of the three sectors this time around, but his overall time is better, 1m41.144s.
The Mexican improves to a 1m41.288s, as Antonelli locks up and goes wide into Turn 1.
Perez sets an opening lap time, a modest 1m41.792s.
Perez returns to the track in the Cadillac.
There has been much to say about F1's newest team, including how they had to use fake tyres in the wind tunnel for a while, and their different approach to Haas regarding how many parts they're buying from Ferrari.
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
Only the top three are on track right now. Norris just went wide in Turn 11.
Lindblad reaches 40 laps with Racing Bulls. Most other teams are on 28 at least; the only exceptions are Red Bull (13) and Cadillac (2).
As mentioned earlier, Esteban Ocon thinks the midfield is seconds off, and this is hard to argue against. Fourth-placed Albon is 1.5s slower than Antonelli in third.
Antonelli fastest in sector one and three! But he lost a lot of time in sector two, he's 0.4s off. He's on C3 tyres.
Nearly two hours in, Haas and Racing Bulls lead the lap-count tally on 37 and 35 laps respectively.
Cadillac is at the other end of the list, with two laps for Perez.
Oof! Hulkenberg lost the rear and dipped two wheels in the gravel at the exit of Turn 4. No harm done.
And a close-up pic of Alonso exiting the pitlane this morning, because why not?
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
A great point by cjewell. Fernando Alonso has lapped in 1m36.536s, which is 1.6s faster than Aston did last week.
That's encouraging, even though that car is unlikely to be a podium contender.
TECH: Ferrari surprised the paddock when it presented a brand new aerodynamic feature for the start of this second Bahrain test.
Ferrari SF-26
Photo by: AG Photo
Meanwhile at Cadillac, Perez did an install lap and has been back in the garage since.
Norris steals P2 from Antonelli, that's a 1m34.052s with personal bests in the first two sectors. He's on prototype tyres.
Antonelli improves with the fastest time in the third sector, that's a 1m34.251s, half a second slower than Leclerc.
A replay shows Leclerc going very wide in Turn 10 – classic.
Perez seems to be all set in Cadillac's yet-to-be-named F1 car. The team has been working through sensor issues.
The compression ratio saga is alive and well in the paddock, and Alpine – now powered by Mercedes – says the situation is "crystal clear": its engine is legal.
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
We are one hour in, and all cars have covered at least 10 laps, except Hadjar's Red Bull (seven) and Perez' Cadillac (zero). We'll attempt to find out what's going on at the American team.
Leclerc goes fastest! He just set a 1m33.739s on prototype tyres. That's 0.070s slower than Antonelli's benchmark from last week.
By: Autosport Staff
