MOTORSPORT – MCLAREN’S star duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were upbeat yesterday after a “positive day” on track at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in F1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2026.
The pair completed 122 laps between them as they focused heavily on collecting data on aerodynamics, with the objective of getting a broader insight into how their MCL40 operates as the days count down to the start of the 2026 FIA F1 World Championship next month.
“It was good to be back in the car today,” said Norris, F1’s reigning drivers’ world champion, who topped the day one timesheet in Sakhir.
“We completed a lot of test items which gave us a lot of data to look over, as well as a better understanding of the car.”
The tests in the kingdom follow a ‘shakedown’ held by all 11 F1 teams in Spain last month, which they used to further get their new generation cars ready for the six days of running at BIC.
“Of course, being in Bahrain in the sun, the conditions are very different to Barcelona – very hot and quite windy – and that was interesting to see how differently the car behaves,” added Norris. “Positive day, lots learned, and looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow.”
Norris shared driving duties with Piastri yesterday but will be the sole driver in the cockpit today as testing’s first three-day session in Bahrain continues.
“A good first morning back in the car – it all ran smoothly and I feel like I got a better handle of what the car’s doing and what it needs,” said Piastri.
“The conditions are very different here compared to Barcelona, so it was good to get some running in a different environment. We’ll go through the data, see what we can pull out from it and how we can improve ahead of getting back on track.”
Amongst F1’s other top four teams from last season, Ferrari and Mercedes also had both their drivers sample their cars in the Bahrain warmth, while four-time F1 drivers’ world champion Max Verstappen had his RB22 contender all to himself for a full day’s running.
Verstappen finished right behind Norris on the day’s classification, with just over a tenth-of-a-second separating the pair – but he downplayed the significance of his strong pre-season pace.
“We are not focusing on lap times and the standings, but instead focusing on understanding the car and the tyres and doing what is necessary for our programme,” explained Verstappen, who will be back in the car tomorrow for a half-day after teammate Isack Hadjar gets behind the wheel today.
“It is a completely different track compared to Barcelona, so it is good to have that comparison.
“Looking at the day, it was all okay and we didn’t run into trouble, which was the most important thing, so I can now look to Friday for what else we can learn.”
Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc expressed his optimism after getting to test last night after teammate and seven-time F1 drivers’ world champion Lewis Hamilton was on track in the morning.
“It was a productive half-day of testing for me as we were able to complete the programme without any major issues, which is always a positive at this stage,” said Leclerc, who was about a half-second off Norris’s leading pace in third.
“The feeling was quite different compared to Barcelona, as the conditions here are very different, but that’s exactly what we need – gaining experience on another track and understanding how the car behaves in different scenarios.
“So far, the data is broadly in line with what we expected from our simulations, which is encouraging.
“Now the focus is on continuing to work through the programme and making sure we are as prepared as possible for the first race.”
Added Hamilton, who is eager to continue learning about their car: “I see a very focused team, and over the next few days we’ll keep working step by step and continue to improve.
“It’s still too early to say where we stand. At this stage everyone is running different programmes, so the most important thing is to focus on ourselves and keep learning.”
Mercedes faced a suspension issue yesterday that limited the track time of Kimi Antonelli after taking over from George Russell, who was in action in the morning.
“We lost close to two hours of track time and that has set our programme back,” admitted Antonelli. “The garage did a great job, though, to fix the problem as quickly as they could and we were able to complete 30 laps before the end of the day.
“It’s not an ideal start to this first test so we’re looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.
“Several of our competitors have looked very strong today so we are playing catch-up. Our aim is to have a smoother day tomorrow and to add to our learning of the W17.”
Added Russell: “We’ve had a difficult first day here in Bahrain, had a solid three days on track in Barcelona, but we haven’t hit the ground running here in the Middle East.
“Our competitors, particularly Red Bull Racing and McLaren, have once again impressed, as they did in Barcelona. It’s clear that we’ve got ground to make up and we are already working hard to do so.”
The F1 tests begin today at 10am with the morning session continuing until 2pm. The afternoon runs will then be held from 3pm to 7pm, with the chequered flag coming down under lights.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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