Charles Leclerc considerably impressed by topping the ultimate morning of pre-season testing for the 2026 Method 1 marketing campaign, whereas additional issues struck Aston Martin in Bahrain.
The Ferrari driver set a 1m33.689s lap on the C3 tyre contained in the opening hour, and that’s the third session Leclerc has topped throughout the final two weeks.
Alongside going quickest, the Monegasque accomplished the second-most mileage on Friday morning with 80 laps of the Sakhir venue, which included a full race simulation halfway by way of.
Throughout the race sim, he used each the medium and laborious tyres on what was the second day of Ferrari operating its distinctive rear wing, which has a 180-degree rotating higher flap.
It’s truthful to say that that’s been the speak of testing this week, however when it comes to the precise leaderboard, Leclerc was 0.227s faster than Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli in second.
The 19-year-old additionally set his quickest lap on the C3, however he accomplished a lowly 49 excursions after inflicting the one pink flag as he pulled off between Turns 10 and 11 halfway by way of.
Autosport understands that Antonelli suffered a lack of pneumatic stress, inflicting the Silver Arrows to vary its energy unit, so he didn’t return for the remaining 100 minutes.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Isack Hadjar, Crimson Bull Racing
Photograph by: Simon Galloway / LAT Photos through Getty Photos
The highest three was then rounded out by Oscar Piastri, who was 0.663s off Leclerc after setting his lap on the C4 whereas finishing 66 laps within the McLaren – the joint fourth-most of the morning.
Subsequent was Esteban Ocon, who impressed for Haas by finishing probably the most mileage with 82 laps whereas being just below two tenths shy of Piastri on the prototype tyre.
Isack Hadjar accomplished the highest 5 for Crimson Bull, 0.822s behind Leclerc, whereas Pierre Gasly, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez all respectively rounded out the highest 10.
Rock-bottom was Lance Stroll for Aston Martin, which continued its horror pre-season check by solely finishing two laps this morning resulting from a parts shortage with its Honda power unit.
It got here after Stroll suffered an engine drawback on Wednesday, earlier than quickly spinning out with what additionally seemed like a technical fault. Fernando Alonso suffered an analogous energy unit challenge on Thursday, so Stroll didn’t hit the monitor till the ultimate 15-20 minutes on Friday morning.
The session then ended with the routine system checks that the FIA launched on Wednesday. Lando Norris, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Lindblad, Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Gasly and Valtteri Bottas will all contest this afternoon’s session, the place extra efficiency runs and glory laps are anticipated.
F1 Bahrain pre-season testing – Day 6 morning outcomes
| Pos |
Driver |
Group |
Finest Lap |
Hole |
Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.689 | — | 80 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:33.916 | +0.227 | 49 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:34.352 | +0.663 | 66 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:34.494 | +0.805 | 82 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | Crimson Bull | 1:34.511 | +0.822 | 59 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:34.846 | +1.157 | 57 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:35.238 | +1.549 | 77 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:35.252 | +1.563 | 66 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:36.019 | +2.330 | 64 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 1:40.842 | +7.153 | 61 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | — | — | 2 |
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