Leclerc tops final morning in Bahrain test

Charles Leclerc ended the final morning of the second Bahrain pre‑season test on top, setting the fastest lap of the session with a 1:33.689 and completing 80 laps in the process.

His strong mileage and pace continued Ferrari’s productive week, which has already featured several eye‑catching aerodynamic experiments.

Kimi Antonelli placed second for Mercedes with a lap 0.227 seconds slower than Leclerc’s benchmark. Despite completing only 49 laps due to a pneumatic issue that brought out a red flag, Antonelli still managed to secure the closest challenge to the Ferrari.

Oscar Piastri finished third for McLaren after recording a time 0.663 seconds off the fastest lap. He logged 66 laps, even though his running was interrupted for around half an hour while the team worked on the rear of his car.

Esteban Ocon completed the most laps of the top four, reaching 82 laps for Alpine and finishing fourth with a time 0.805 seconds behind Leclerc. Isack Hadjar followed in fifth for Red Bull, setting a lap 0.822 seconds off the pace and covering 59 laps, despite a moment of frustration after running deep at Turn 8.

Pierre Gasly added 57 laps for Alpine and placed sixth, while Arvid Lindblad impressed again for Racing Bulls by completing 77 laps and finishing seventh, 1.549 seconds away from the fastest time. Carlos Sainz matched Piastri’s mileage with 66 laps for Williams and ended the session eighth, just 1.563 seconds off Leclerc.

Nico Hülkenberg completed 64 laps for Audi and finished ninth, while Sergio Pérez put in 61 laps for Cadillac and ended the morning 7.153 seconds adrift after a slow start to his running.

Lance Stroll rounded out the table with only 2 laps, as Aston Martin continued to struggle following Fernando Alonso’s battery‑related power unit stoppage the previous day. Honda confirmed that checks in Japan and a shortage of parts would severely limit Stroll’s track time.