Charles Leclerc had a smooth morning session and set the fastest time on Day 1 of Formula 1’s second Bahrain test, while three teams suffered major reliability problems.
Leclerc set a best lap of 1:33.739, finishing 0.313 seconds ahead of world champion Lando Norris in the McLaren. Leclerc completed 70 laps in the Ferrari before handing the car over to Lewis Hamilton for the afternoon session. Norris managed 54 laps, while his team-mate Oscar Piastri ran later.
Kimi Antonelli was the only other driver to finish within a second of Leclerc’s time, ending 0.419 seconds behind for Mercedes. Alex Albon was fourth quickest for Williams, almost two seconds slower.
Most teams had a normal morning, but Red Bull, Aston Martin and Cadillac all ran into trouble. Isack Hadjar completed only 13 laps for Red Bull after a loss of pressure in a coolant system. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin also stopped due to an engine problem, and Honda engineers were seen inspecting the car.
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez had a difficult session as well. A suspension issue was followed by several sensor problems, limiting him early on. He later managed to complete 24 laps before handing over to Valtteri Bottas.
In the afternoon, 10 of the 11 teams were due to switch drivers, with Max Verstappen the only one not scheduled to drive, as Hadjar was set to run for Red Bull for the full day.
