George Russell Tops Morning of Bahrain Test Day Three

Formula 1, Sportrik Media – George Russell set the pace during the morning session on the third day of the 2026 Formula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain, placing Mercedes-AMG Petronas ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on the timesheets.

Hamilton was the first driver to head out, taking over the Scuderia Ferrari after Charles Leclerc’s Thursday running. A busy opening phase followed, with most teams quickly sending their cars onto the circuit, while Lance Stroll was the last to emerge for Aston Martin. Several outfits utilised aero rakes and flow-vis paint in the early runs as part of aerodynamic correlation work under the new 2026 regulations.

The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag near the end of the first hour when Valtteri Bottas stopped his Cadillac on track. Running resumed once the car was cleared, allowing teams to continue their planned programmes.

As track conditions improved, some drivers began pushing harder. Gabriel Bortoleto had a wide moment at the final corner in the Audi, while Liam Lawson experienced a similar slide at the same section for Racing Bulls. Bottas later rejoined the session with just over an hour remaining, aiming to recover lost mileage.

Russell not only set the benchmark time but also logged the highest mileage of the morning, signalling a smoother session for Mercedes following a power unit issue on Thursday that restricted Kimi Antonelli to minimal running. Russell’s 1m33.918 stood as the fastest lap recorded so far during the first Bahrain test, 0.291 seconds clear of Hamilton.

Verstappen secured third in the Red Bull Racing, followed by Oliver Bearman for Haas F1 Team, Oscar Piastri in the McLaren Racing, Franco Colapinto for Alpine, and Carlos Sainz in the Williams Racing.

Lawson finished eighth and recorded the highest lap count of the session with 84 laps, while Bortoleto, Stroll and Bottas completed the classification before the lunch break. Teams now head into a one-hour pause to analyse data before the final afternoon session of the first test begins at 15:00 local time, with Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Haas, Audi and Cadillac all scheduled to rotate drivers.

The morning running provided a clearer indication of outright pace under the evolving 2026 technical framework, with Russell establishing an early reference point ahead of more representative long-run simulations later in the day.