F1 Bahrain pre-season test: Leclerc pips Norris on morning of day four

Charles Leclerc kicked off the final week of pre-season testing for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign by going fastest in Bahrain, as the top teams asserted their dominance over the midfield.

The Ferrari driver set a 1m33.739s on prototype tyres inside the opening hour of Wednesday’s morning session, 0.070s slower than the benchmark from last week. 

This was the second session Leclerc had topped in Bahrain, having also gone fastest last Thursday, and he was 0.313s quicker than reigning world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren.

Mercedes teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who set last week’s benchmark, rounded out the top three after going 0.419s slower than Leclerc - but 1.532s faster than fourth-placed Alex Albon.

The Williams driver even had a little wheel-to-wheel with Antonelli, who overtook him down the inside of Turn 13 with 17 minutes remaining, though Albon put up very little of a fight.

It obviously meant very little in the grand scheme of things, but it did slightly show how much more powerful the frontrunners are heading into the season. The lap times even supported Esteban Ocon’s claim that the midfield is “seconds away” from the top four teams: McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

The last of those, however, was unable to show its full potential on Wednesday morning given new signing Isack Hadjar was restricted to just 13 laps in the RB22, due to a pressure problem with one of the coolant circuits in the engine. 

It meant he missed the majority of the session, but Hadjar still set the sixth fastest lap with a 1m36.188s which was 0.290s slower than fifth-placed Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.

The remaining positions were then respectively rounded out by Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Arvid Lindblad and Sergio Perez, with the Cadillac also suffering mechanical problems.

Perez completed just 24 laps for Cadillac, having skipped the opening hour before not starting proper running until approximately 90 minutes remained, following various sensor issues on his car.

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 4 morning