Mercedes’ George Russell in action during pre-season testing.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Mercedes driver George Russell was fastest on the first day of Formula 1’s final testing event ahead of the new season, edging McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
In the afternoon session at the Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), Russell had a time of 1:33.459, surpassing Piastri’s 1:33.739 achieved in the morning. Leclerc finished 0.28 behind the leader.
“Overall, it has been a productive day,” Piastri said.
“My running in the afternoon felt solid and we made good progress. I am feeling more comfortable with each lap, so I am looking forward to getting back out on the track tomorrow afternoon.”
World champion Lando Norris was half a second back in fourth place.
“We got some good laps under our belts this morning, working though varying runs and getting more comfortable in the car,” Norris said.
“We’re learning more each day. But there are still a lot of things to get our heads around, so we’ll keep putting the car through its paces in the last two days of testing.”
It is the second three-day testing event to be held in Bahrain this year ahead of the opening race of the season in Australia next month.
The teams tested their new cars earlier in the year at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Regulation changes have made cars smaller and lighter, with key roles being the charging of an on-board battery and using electrical energy to boost speed.
The FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, said “regulations were agreed” following meetings of the F1 Commission and the F1 Power Unit Advisory Committee.
“In common with the introduction of such significant regulatory changes, there are still collective learnings to be taken from pre-season testing,” read a statement on the F1 Commission meeting.
“Topics covered included overall car characteristics, energy and power unit, aerodynamics, overtaking and racing, tyres and mechanical grip. It was agreed that no immediate major regulatory changes were required given that initial evidence and feedback remains immature and that premature change carried the risk of increased instability ahead of the first race.
“Further reviews will be carried out once more data becomes available.”
Max Verstappen, who last week said the new cars are no fun to drive and that the series no longer feels like F1, sat out both sessions.
Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar finished sixth fastest despite managing just 13 laps in the morning session with a water system issue.
“We had a slow start to the day with low mileage in the morning after losing pressure in one of the coolant circuits,” Hadjar said.
“We made the most of the afternoon with a really packed programme, and I feel better than last week already with the car.” Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was limited to 28 laps due to a power unit issue in the morning session.
Published – February 20, 2026 05:37 am IST
