Race of Speed and Mishaps at Bahrain Test

Ferrari Dominates

• Charles Leclerc led the session with a 1:34.273 lap on soft tyres, outpacing McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.4 seconds.
• Norris’ best time on medium tyres was 1:34.784, securing second place.

Other Teams Lag Behind

• Every other car was at least 2.4 seconds slower than Leclerc, underscoring the performance gap among top contenders.

Red Bull Issues

• A hydraulic leak in the chassis forced Red Bull to cut short their morning run.
• Planned driver Isack Hadjar was sidelined, limiting the team to a single lap.

Mercedes Setback

• Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s power‑unit problem after three laps halted the team.
• George Russell was slated to resume in the afternoon, but the issue left Mercedes idle for the rest of the morning.

Cadillac Incident

• Sergio Pérez’s Cadillac triggered a red flag on its first out‑lap for an unspecified reason.
• After recovery, Pérez completed 42 laps with a best of 1:38.653, slower than all but Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.

Remaining Teams

• Alpine – Pierre Gasly: 1:36.723
• Haas – Oliver Bearman
• Williams – Alexander Albon
• Audi – Nico Hulkenberg
• Racing Bulls – Liam Lawson

Safety Car Simulations

• A virtual safety car and a red‑flag simulation wrapped up the session, allowing teams to practice emergency responses.