Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dominated the final day of Bahrain F1 testing as Aston Martin concluded its running with no lap set due to Honda power unit issues.
Leclerc set the fastest lap time of 1:31.992 which stood as the quickest overall across both test weeks, as teams wrapped up extensive data collection and fine-tuning their new-era cars ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne.
Testing commenced at 10:00 local time with all 10 teams hitting the track promptly as drivers focused on long-run simulations, tyre evaluation across Pirelli’s C1 to C5 compounds, and setup tweaks to optimize the new power units.
Leclerc started his dominant charge by logging a series of competitive laps in the opening hour aboard the Ferrari SF-26, initially on the harder C2 compound before switching to mediums for consistency checks.
The Monesgaque ultimately delivered a 1:33.689 which stood as the morning benchmark, beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli by 0.227s—the latter recovering from a technical issue.
Full 2026 Bahrain F1 pre-season test Day 6 Results
Mercedes’ Antonelli paces day two of Bahrain F1 testing, Aston Martin struggles persist
Transitioning seamlessly into the afternoon, teams shifted emphasis to qualifying simulations and low-fuel runs on the softer compounds.
Charles Leclerc returned with renewed vigor with his first laps on the C3 compound shaving hundredths off his morning benchmark.
The driver had a snap and slide out of Turn 1, plus a lock-up and trip into the T1 run-off, as he continued to push the potent Ferrari SF-26, his confidence clearly building in a car which has impressed across Bahrain testing.
Leclerc switched to fresh C4 tires with roughly 90 minutes remaining and proceeded to post purple times in S1 and S2 before unleashing a jaw-dropping final sector to unleash a 1:31.992 benchmark which remained unbeaten for the remainder of the session.
This effort placed him 0.879 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who delivered an impressive showing after spending over two hours in the garage as the team tried to fix an issue on the MCL40.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed third, over a second adrift, while George Russell recovered Mercedes edge in the afternoon to secure fourth overall.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s ongoing power unit issues forced them to miss the first two hours of morning running, as Lance Stroll eventually left the pits with 20 minutes remaining and only completed two installation laps before returning to the team’s garage.
The Silverstone-based outfit later confirmed battery-related issues over the week led to shortage of power unit parts as they concluded their running for the day with just six laps.
“Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team,” a statement from the team read.
“Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and a shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today’s run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints.”
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