Bahrain Test Day 3: Russell clocks fastest time of the test to beat Hamilton

George Russell concluded his final morning in the Mercedes W17 for this week’s Bahrain test with a P1, three-tenths up on his former teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes driver clocked the fastest time of testing to date, a 1:33.918, to edge out Hamilton with Max Verstappen third.

George Russell wraps up his Bahrain test with a P1

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McLaren’s morning, with Oscar Piastri behind the wheel of the MCL40, began in the pit lane and not in the garage. The MCL40 was behind screens, and a wall of mechanics in the pit lane, with the garage door closed. It, though, was the team just testing things.

George Russell hit the front in the early running, clocking a 1:34.075, which was the fastest lap of the test at the time.

He was sent back into the pits when the red flags came out for Valtteri Bottas’ stricken Cadillac, the Finn pulling off the track at Turn 11. Cadillac updated PlanetF1.com that it was a cooling issue that halted Bottas’ run.

Lewis Hamilton moved up to second place, 0.291s down on his former teammate, with Max Verstappen third. A big moment for Oscar Piastri, amid concerns he would struggle with the lack of grip and downforce on the new F1 2026 cars, left him down in sixth place, three seconds down on Russell after the second hour.

Piastri’s struggles continued as he went wide out of the final corner, having got sideways through the apex and taking to the escape area.

Aside from lock-ups and sliding of tyres, which appear to be the norm with these new cars, Piastri and Oliver Bearman engaged in a bit of back-and-forth, giving fans an idea of how the cars will handle in racing conditions.

Piastri was clearly quicker and was able to follow the Haas with relative ease, only for Bearman to pull away down the main straight. Bearman then became the next victim of a Turn 10 lock-up and run wide, allowing Piastri through.

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Russell, Hamilton and Verstappen remained the leading three heading into the final hour of running with the Mercedes driver’s 1:33.918 the time to beat.

Piastri leapfrogged Franco Colapinto for fifth place but was still 2.5s off the pace.

The session ended with Russell quickest of all ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen was third fastest.

Liam Lawson was the busiest driver, the Racing Bulls driver amassing 84 laps during the four hours.

Lance Stroll had a productive morning in the Aston Martin, covering 54 laps in the AMR26. He finished 10th fastest, ahead of Bottas.

Bahrain Day 3 Morning Times

1 George Russell Mercedes 1:33.918 – 78 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:34.209 – 69 laps
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:35.341 – 61 laps
4 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:35.972 – 70 laps
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:36.390 – 72 laps
6 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:36.874 – 64 laps
7 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:37.186 – 68 laps
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:37.238 – 84 laps
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:37.536 – 60 laps
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:38.423 – 54 laps
11 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:38.772 – 37 laps

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