Bahrain Test Day 1: Max Verstappen leads Bahrain F1 test as Audi turns heads

Max Verstappen and his RB22 drew first blood on the opening day of F1’s first official test in Bahrain, the Red Bull driver 0.169s faster than Oscar Piastri.

After a behind-closed-doors shakedown, Formula 1 stepped into the spotlight as pre-season testing began in Bahrain on Wednesday with all 11 teams, including Williams, in action.

Verstappen sets the pace on Day One’s morning session

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It was a morning for the aero rakes as the teams gathered data on the new cars and their power units. It was also a morning for learning for the drivers as they adjusted to not only the energy management requirements but also the movable front and rear wings.

Audi surprised as it showed off an R26 with minimal sidepods.

Sucking it in…

Audi running extreme sidepods #F1 pic.twitter.com/WZC6p6i3qO

— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) February 11, 2026

Oscar Piastri led the way after the opening hour with a 1:37.964, putting him a second and a half up on the Mercedes of George Russell.

Although Gabriel Bortoleto, 10, and Lance Stroll, 5, had completed laps, neither had a time on the board.

The busiest driver on track, Arvid Lindblad, hit the front in the second hour, the Racing Bulls driver pushing hard as he caught a lock-up as well as a huge slide.

He wasn’t the only one locking up, the drivers struggling with Turn 10 as Lewis Hamilton had a second moment while Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon also locked up. Hamilton and Colapinto missed the corner completely.

Shortly after the Alpine driver brought out the red flags as he ground to a halt on track. The session was stopped as marshals recovered his car.

Max Verstappen took over at the front at the two-hour mark, the Red Bull driver clocking a 1:35.433 to pull 1.6s clear of Piastri. Ocon was up to third.

Colapinto returned to the track after Alpine resolved his as-yet-undisclosed problem, while Piastri closed in on Verstappen’s benchmark time, just a quarter of a second down heading into the final hour before lunch.

Another small improvement from Piastri closed the gap to 0.16s while a late charge from Hamilton saw the Ferrari driver move into the top four, exactly a second down on Verstappen’s pace-setting time.

The morning session ended with the Red Bull driver quickest of all ahead of Piastri, Russell and Hamilton.

Verstappen’s time was 6.085s seconds slower than the benchmark time during last year’s Bahrain pre-season test, a 1:29.348 set by Carlos Sainz in the Williams.

Bahrain Day 1 Morning Session

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:35.433 65 laps
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:35.602 54 laps
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:36.108 56 laps
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:36.433 52 laps
5 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:37.169 64 laps
6 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:37.945 75 laps
7 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:38.221 77 laps
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:38.871 49 laps
9 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:39.150 49 laps
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:39.883 33 laps
11 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:40.330 28 laps

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