Bahrain F1 Day 2 morning: Charles Leclerc and Ferrari set the pace with 62 laps

Bahrain F1 Day 2 morning: Charles Leclerc and Ferrari set the pace with 62 laps. Red Bull and Mercedes struggle,.

Bahrain test, day 2 morning standings

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:34.273	–	62
2	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:34.784	+0.511	64
3	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:36.723	+2.450	61
4	Oliver Bearman	Haas	1:37.025	+2.752	55
5	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:37.229	+2.956	62
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:37.266	+2.993	47
7	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:38.017	+3.744	50
8	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:38.653	+4.380	42
9	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:38.960	+4.687	55
10	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	–	–	31
11	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	–	–	1

Morning highlights of day 2

The morning at Sakhir on day 2 of the Bahrain pre-season tests was painted red. Ferrari made a strong statement, with Charles Leclerc setting the fastest lap of the session in 1:34.273, on a day when both Red Bull and Mercedes struggled, remaining in the garage all morning due to issues with their gearbox and power unit, respectively. The SF-26 once again showed remarkable reliability, with Leclerc completing an impressive 62 laps—just two fewer than the morning’s workhorse, Lando Norris.

McLaren also had reasons to be happy, with the reigning world champion posting the second fastest time, albeit half a second off Leclerc’s pace. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claimed third, but the time gap shows the difference in performance: the Frenchman was almost two and a half seconds slower than Ferrari #16. Aston Martin, a major disappointment yesterday, completed a solid number of laps, with Fernando Alonso completing 55 circuits. However, in terms of pace, the two-time world champion was the slowest driver of the entire morning session.