Charles Leclerc Tops Bahrain Test Day 2 Morning 2026

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Charles Leclerc put Ferrari at the top of the timing sheets during the morning session of Day 2 at the 2026 F1 pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Monegasque driver, scheduled to run the full day for Ferrari, completed 62 laps and set a benchmark time of 1m 34.273s. That effort placed him half a second clear of reigning world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren.

Norris logged 64 laps, the highest tally of the session, underlining McLaren’s focus on long-run data collection and energy management calibration under the all-new 2026 technical regulations.

In third position, Pierre Gasly for Alpine finished 2.5 seconds adrift of Leclerc’s benchmark. Gasly nevertheless completed 61 laps, suggesting a programme centred on correlation and set-up validation rather than outright performance simulation.

Notably absent from the four-hour morning session were Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, both encountering technical issues that prevented track running. Their absence is particularly significant given the ongoing development focus on power unit systems ahead of formal homologation for the 2026 campaign.

With the afternoon session to follow, teams continue prioritising aerodynamic balance, active aero deployment, and simulator correlation as preparations intensify ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.