Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets on the penultimate day of Formula 1's 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain with a lap of 1m32.803s for Mercedes. Oscar Piastri of McLaren was second, just 0.058s behind, while Aston Martin endured further troubles as Fernando Alonso stopped on track. The session highlighted strong performances from the top teams amid ongoing reliability issues for some.
On Thursday, the second day of the second 2026 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit—also known as Day 5 overall—Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli set the quickest time of 1m32.803s on C3 compound tyres, improving on previous benchmarks by over six tenths. This edged out McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who posted 1m32.861s on the same tyres shortly after 6pm local time. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third with 1m33.162s on C3s, completing a team-high 139 laps and contributing to productive mileage for the frontrunners.
The morning session saw McLaren's Lando Norris lead with 1m33.453s on C3 tyres, 0.131s ahead of Verstappen's 1m33.584s, and 0.658s clear of Mercedes' George Russell in third. Norris's time was 0.006s quicker than Russell's Wednesday reference. Teams focused on race simulations and long runs, with McLaren and Mercedes achieving 158 and 156 laps respectively.
Ferrari faced challenges as Lewis Hamilton completed only five laps initially due to an unspecified issue, spending much of the morning in the garage. He returned for 78 laps total, setting a best of 1m33.408s on C3s despite off-track excursions. The team debuted a 180-degree rotating rear wing element, permitted under new active aero rules, which flipped upside down in straight-line mode before reverting under braking. Ferrari removed it for afternoon long runs.
Aston Martin continued its difficult test, with Fernando Alonso completing 68 laps before stopping on track early afternoon due to a power unit issue, causing a red flag. Alonso was 4.669s off Antonelli's pace. "It was important to get some mileage in, but it wasn’t enough, and we couldn’t complete our run plan due to a PU-related issue," Alonso said.
In the midfield, Alpine's Franco Colapinto set 1m33.818s on soft C5 tyres, while Audi's Nico Hulkenberg achieved 1m33.987s on C4s despite a two-hour hydraulics check. Haas's Esteban Ocon was seventh at 1.4s off the benchmark, and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson completed 106 laps for eighth. Cadillac's Sergio Perez managed 1m35.369s after garage time, 2.6s down.
Two race start simulations occurred, with Hamilton showing the strongest launches in both, outperforming others like Norris. McLaren CEO Zak Brown noted, "I think we’ll be in the big four – I don’t think we’re in the front of the big four, but it’s going to be a long season." Antonelli added, "We were able to get through everything we had planned and end the day P1. While that is positive, the gaps between those at the front are already incredibly small."
The test concludes Friday, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.
