F1 Bahrain-2 Day 2 morning session: Ferrari SF-26 limited by technical issue. Full recap of the F1 2026 Bahrain Test 2 Day 2 morning session..

F1 2026 Bahrain Test 2, Day 2 Morning: Norris leads, Ferrari completes only 5 laps

The morning session of Day 2 of the Bahrain 2 pre-season test saw McLaren lead the timing sheets, with Red Bull just a tenth behind thanks to Max Verstappen. George Russell kept a low profile in third, while Ferrari unveiled a new rear wing with an unprecedented flap opening but completed only five laps due to a technical issue.

During the morning session at Sakhir, three of the four top teams dominated the leaderboard. Lando Norris set the fastest time of the session with a 1:33.453, also claiming the fastest lap across the two Bahrain tests so far. The McLaren driver achieved this on C4 tires, just over a tenth faster than Max Verstappen.

The MCL40 topped the charts, but Verstappen secured second place on a Red Bull RB22 using C3 tires, one step harder than the tires used by Norris. While this may seem minor, as often happens during testing, it’s difficult to get a full picture due to fuel loads and varying test programs.

Mercedes secured third place with George Russell in the W17, over half a second behind Norris. Russell was the most active driver on track with 77 laps, surpassing Norris with 72 and Alexander Albon with 71.

Ferrari stands out with new rear wing

While the top three teams led the timing sheets, Ferrari’s absence was evident. The team from Maranello caught attention early in the morning by introducing a new rear wing, featuring an innovative active flap design. The upper flap rotates beyond 180 degrees, an eye-catching development that attracted widespread attention (for a detailed analysis of Ferrari’s new wing, click here).

However, this could only be observed for five laps, as Lewis Hamilton—today’s driver of the SF-26—remained in the garage most of the morning due to a presumed sensor issue. The team had to dismantle several rear-end components to resolve it. No mechanical failure occurred, but it took considerable time to fix.

Hamilton returned to the track at the end of the session for a standing start test, performed very well alongside Oliver Bearman’s Haas, which finished sixth overall, while Mercedes and McLaren struggled noticeably during the same runs.

Mid-field and other highlights

Following the top three, Alexander Albon’s Williams, Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi, and Oliver Bearman’s Haas completed the top six. It was impressive to see the FW48, R26, and VF-26 separated by just 149 thousandths. Williams and Haas showed good early signs, while Audi overcame initial challenges related to the new power unit project.

Ferrari completed only 5 laps, but Alpine with Franco Colapinto finished 54 laps, while Racing Bulls struggled in the morning, completing just 27 laps, with Liam Lawson leaving the garage 20 minutes before the session ended.

Aston Martin completed 40 laps, alternating between two different engine covers, one with gills and one half-cone design without sequential vents. The AMR26 is about four seconds off the top pace, showing particularly nervous braking behavior that varies corner to corner.

With Lewis Hamilton in tenth due to limited running, the session concluded with Cadillac at the back. Valtteri Bottas completed 58 laps, but his pace remained significantly off, 6.7 seconds behind Norris.

Morning session timing summary