Mercedes left Bahrain with the neatest headline you can write at the end of a test: P1 and P2. Kimi Antonelli topped the third and final day of the opening official 2026 pre-season running at the Bahrain International Circuit, edging team-mate George Russell to complete a Mercedes one-two that will do plenty for morale inside Brackley — and just as much for the paddock’s early-season gossip economy.
Antonelli’s best was a 1m33.669s from 49 laps, a relatively modest lap count that underlined what the day looked like from the outside: Mercedes weren’t chasing mileage at all costs, they were shaping the programme and dipping into performance work when it suited them. Russell, by contrast, logged 78 laps and ended up 0.249s behind, which is about as close to “everyone go home happy” as you ever get in February testing.
The interesting part isn’t that Mercedes were quick — fast laps happen for all sorts of reasons in Bahrain — but that the split running looks deliberate and, frankly, grown-up. With Antonelli doing fewer laps yet still landing the headline time, and Russell doing the heavier lifting on volume, it had the feel of a team already comfortable with its baseline and methodical about dividing labour between its drivers.
Behind them, Lewis Hamilton’s first Bahrain test as a Ferrari driver continued to read like a proper working week rather than a highlight reel. Hamilton was third, 0.540s off the quickest Mercedes, and racked up 138 laps across a full day in the car. That’s the sort of number teams reach for when the priority is building understanding — and when the driver wants as many repetitions as possible with new systems, new procedures, new voices in his ear.
Oscar Piastri was fourth for McLaren, 0.880s down, but his 153 laps were the standout metric of the day. If you’re looking for one clean takeaway from the mileage chart, it’s that McLaren got through a serious amount of work without any obvious drama attached to it. In a new-regulation winter, that’s often the first box you want ticked before anyone starts dreaming.
Max Verstappen ended the day fifth for Red Bull, 1.672s away from Antonelli on 61 laps. Nobody sensible will pretend that gap means much in isolation — not with fuel loads and run plans varying wildly — but it does keep Red Bull out of the “testing winners” column on a day where Mercedes grabbed the optics. And in F1, optics are a currency all their own, especially when the first race is still weeks away and everyone’s looking for clues.
Further down the order, the midfield mixed itself up in a way that felt very “week one of testing”: Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar in sixth, Esteban Ocon seventh for Haas, and Franco Colapinto eighth for Alpine after a big 137-lap day. Haas also had Oliver Bearman ninth, suggesting a quietly productive day for a team that usually treats testing as time to bank solid laps and avoid digging holes before the season even starts.
Nico Hulkenberg put Audi 10th with 49 laps, while Williams placed Alex Albon 11th and Carlos Sainz 13th, separated by Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls in 12th. Gabriel Bortoleto’s Sauber was 14th, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll 15th.
At the back, Cadillac’s first official pre-season test day-three classification had Valtteri Bottas 16th on 37 laps and Sergio Perez 17th with 62. The lap counts tell their own story: there’s still plenty of graft ahead for that group before anyone starts talking about performance.
For Antonelli, though, it’s exactly the kind of day that keeps the tone calm around a young driver in a big seat. A headline time, a clean programme, and a garage next door doing the longer run plan — it all fits. Testing doesn’t hand out points, but it does shape narratives, and Mercedes have given themselves a friendly one to take out of Bahrain: the car looks responsive, the operation looks sharp, and the driver line-up looks like it’s already working as a unit.
Day 3 – Bahrain pre-season test (Test 1) classification:
1. Kimi Antonelli – 1:33.669 (49 laps)
2. George Russell +0.249 (78 laps)
3. Lewis Hamilton +0.540 (138 laps)
4. Oscar Piastri +0.880 (153 laps)
5. Max Verstappen +1.672 (61 laps)
6. Isack Hadjar +1.941 (53 laps)
7. Esteban Ocon +2.084 (68 laps)
8. Franco Colapinto +2.137 (137 laps)
9. Oliver Bearman +2.303 (70 laps)
10. Nico Hulkenberg +2.622 (49 laps)
11. Alex Albon +3.124 (71 laps)
12. Liam Lawson +3.139 (119 laps)
13. Carlos Sainz +3.517 (68 laps)
14. Gabriel Bortoleto +3.867 (60 laps)
15. Lance Stroll +4.496 (69 laps)
16. Valtteri Bottas +5.103 (37 laps)
17. Sergio Perez +5.582 (62 laps)
