Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheet on the final day of F1’s first Bahrain pre-season test, beating team-mate George Russell by almost a quarter of a second as the pair handed Mercedes a statement 1-2 ahead of next week’s final test. Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest lap before the Ferrari driver pulled over off track and brought out the red flags at the end of the session. 

Antonelli posted a best time a 1m33.669s to finish 0.249s clear of morning Mercedes runner Russell. The duo were the only drivers to get below 1m34s in week one of pre-season testing. 

Hamilton got closest to the Silver Arrows, with the seven-time champion posting a lap of 1m34.209s in the morning. That put him 0.291s off Russell and just over half a second back from Antonelli. Hamilton’s day ended prematurely when he stopped off track in the final minutes of the session. It was suggested that the Briton may have run out of fuel as he chased efficiency. 

Fourth place at the end of week one went to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver ended the day 0.88s off Antonelli and managed the day three’s largest lap total with a total of 160 laps. Red. Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen finished fifth, though the four-time champion was a sizeable 1.672s.

Verstappen’s new team-mate Isack Hadjar was sixth ahead of Haas’ Esteban Ocon, with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto in P8 ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) completed the top 10.

Behind Piastri on the lap total chart were Hamilton with 150 followed by Colapinto with 144 

and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson on 119. Piastri’s haul meant McLaren topped the team mileage on day 3 and shared the week total with Williams on 422 laps. Behind them, Ferrari banked 421 laps in total, 31 clear of Haas (390). Audi managed 354 laps in total with Red Bull Racing and sister team Racing Bulls completed 343 and 327 respectively, while newcomers Cadillac posted a respectable 320 laps. At the bottom of the chart were Aston Martin with just 206 laps. 

The final three-day pre-season test takes place from 18-20 February.

FIA Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing, Bahrain 1 – Day 2
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1m33.669s 61
2 George Russell Mercedes 1m33.918s +0.249s 78
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1m34.209s +0.540s 150
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:34.549s +0.880s 161
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:35.341s +0.672s 61
6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:35.610s +1.941s 59
7 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:35.753s +2.084s 75
8 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:35.806s +2.137s 144
9 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:35.972s +2.303s 70
10 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:36.291s +2.622s 58
11 Alexander Albon Williams 1:36.665s +3.124s 78
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:36.808s +3.139s 119
13 Carlos SainzWilliams 1:37.186s +3.517s 68
14 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:37.365s +3.696s 67
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:37.536s +3.867s 60
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:38.165s +4.496s 72
17 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:38.772s +5.103s 37