Max Verstappen didn’t waste long reminding the paddock that, new rules or not, Red Bull has turned up to 2026 testing with its usual intent. On the opening morning of the first official pre-season test in Bahrain, the four-time world champion set the quickest time of the session: a 1:35.433 that left him top as the garages began to shake off the winter.
If lap times in February come with the usual asterisks — fuel, engine modes, run plans, and the rest — there was still a familiar feel to the order. Verstappen’s benchmark put him 0.169s clear of Oscar Piastri, who slotted McLaren into second with a 1:35.602, while George Russell made it a Mercedes three-car-looking threat near the front in third on 1:36.108.
Lewis Hamilton, now in Ferrari red, ended the morning fourth with a 1:36.433, three tenths back from Russell. It’s early and the stopwatch is a blunt tool at this stage, but the shape of the session hinted at something fans have learned to trust over the years: when Verstappen’s already comfortable in the car on day one, Red Bull tends to be operating from a place of calm rather than scramble.
Behind the headline pace, the more telling story was mileage — the quiet currency of a first test morning, particularly with a new era bedding in. Williams, absent from last month’s Barcelona shakedown, came out swinging on the lap count. Carlos Sainz logged 77 laps to lead the session’s workload, a valuable bank of running even if his 1:38.221 left him seventh on the times.
The other standout on mileage was Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie on the 2026 grid, who clocked 75 laps for Racing Bulls and ended sixth on 1:37.945. For a newcomer, that’s the kind of morning teams crave: clean, consistent running, a decent lap total, and enough rhythm to start building the feedback loop engineers need when everything is still so new.
Esteban Ocon put Haas fifth with a 1:37.169 and 64 laps — a tidy, productive stint that will have pleased a team that often treats testing as a chance to quietly get its processes right. Verstappen, too, wasn’t exactly hiding in the garage: 65 laps suggests Red Bull spent most of the morning doing proper work, not just chasing a glory run.
The new names and new badges on the timing screens added their own colour. Cadillac’s first official pre-season test session ended with Valtteri Bottas ninth on 1:39.150 after 49 laps — not a number to get carried away with, but a solid enough opening half-day for a newcomer brand finding its feet in public. Audi also logged 49 laps with Gabriel Bortoleto, classified eighth on 1:38.871, with the team arriving in Bahrain running what’s been described as a B-spec car featuring a distinctive sidepod concept.
Aston Martin’s morning looked more stop-start by comparison: Lance Stroll managed 33 laps and finished 10th with a 1:39.883, leaving plenty of room for the team to ramp up the programme later in the day.
The only real interruption came when Franco Colapinto’s Alpine stopped out on track, triggering a red flag and leaving him bottom of the order. More importantly for Alpine, it limited him to 28 laps — the fewest of the session — the sort of hiccup nobody wants when the priority is simply to learn and validate.
Still, this is what the first morning of testing often is: a blend of cautious exploration and early tells. Verstappen setting the pace will make the headlines, but the deeper significance — even at this early stage — sits in the teams that looked comfortable enough to rack up laps without drama. On day one, that’s usually the best sign you can have.
Morning session classification (Day 1, Bahrain test):
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull — 1:35.433 (65 laps)
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren — 1:35.602 (54)
3. George Russell, Mercedes — 1:36.108 (56)
4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari — 1:36.433 (52)
5. Esteban Ocon, Haas — 1:37.169 (64)
6. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls — 1:37.945 (75)
7. Carlos Sainz, Williams — 1:38.221 (77)
8. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi — 1:38.871 (49)
9. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac — 1:39.150 (49)
10. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin — 1:39.883 (33)
11. Franco Colapinto, Alpine — 1:40.330 (28)
