2026 Formula 1 Bahrain preseason test: George Russell tops final morning session

Russell will then hand over the W17 to Kimi Antonelli in the afternoon as the Italian would be hoping for some running after technical issues marred his time on the car on Thursday morning.

Russell went even faster than Charles Leclerc's Thursday-topping time and clocked a 1:33.918 around the Bahrain International Circuit while managing an impressive 78 laps showing the Mercedes got over their reliability issues.

Lewis Hamilton, who will be driving the Ferrari SF-26 all day, was second fastest with 69 laps to his name, while Max Verstappen was third fastest in the Red Bull Racing RB22 with 61 laps done.

The Dutchman has now concluded his running with Isack Hadjar set to drive for the rest of the day.

Then came Ollie Bearman in the Haas, fourth fastest with 70 laps on the board confirming a positive situation for the American squad so far.

Bearman concluded his running this week as Esteban Ocon will take over the driving duties in the after noon for Haas.

McLaren will have Oscar Piastri in their MCL40 for the whole final day and the Australian was fifth fastest with 73 laps on the board, while Franco Colapinto followed in the Alpine with 64 laps to his name.

The Argentine will return to the cockpit of the A526 after the lunch break and concluded Alpine's Bahrain test.

Another decent run for Williams as Carlos Sainz managed 68 laps with the seventh fastest time before handing the FW48 over to Alex Albon for the  rest of the day.

Racing Bulls enjoyed a productive morning with 84 laps from Liam Lawson, more than any other team managed in the AM. The Kiwi was eighth fastest and will remain in the VCARB03 for the PM.

Audi managed 60 laps with Gabriel Bortoleto who was ninth fastest while Nico Hulkenberg will be back in R26 for the final afternoon session this week.

Lance Stroll will be driving the full Friday for Aston Morning. His morning was not so bad with 54 laps, provided he adds more to that in the afternoon.

Cadillac, once again, caused a Red Flag with Valtteri Bottas stopping on track. He ended the session 11th fastest with just 37 laps of running.