F1 results: Bahrain F1 2026 pre-season testing: Day 1, morning session

Here are the complete F1 results from the morning session of the opening day of the first official pre-season test of F1 2026 in Bahrain.

Red Bull driver and four-time world champion Max Verstappen set the pace on the first morning in Bahrain, clocking a fastest lap time of 1:35.433.

F1 results from the morning session of the Bahrain F1 2026 pre-season test

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That lap put Verstappen 0.169 seconds ahead of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who was second.

Mercedes driver George Russell was third, 0.5s adrift of Piastri, with Lewis Hamilton a further 0.3s back in fourth.

Esteban Ocon was fifth for Haas with Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie on the F1 2026 grid, classified sixth for the Racing Bulls team.

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Carlos Sainz was seventh as Williams made its first appearance in testing having missed last month’s shakedown in Barcelona.

Audi arrived in Bahrain with an eye-catching B-spec car featuring a unique sidepod design, with Gabriel Bortoleto classified eighth.

Valtteri Bottas was ninth for F1 2026 newcomer Cadillac with Lance Stroll 10th behind the wheel of the Aston Martin AMR26.

Franco Colapinto triggered a red flag at one stage after stopping on track, with the Alpine driver ending the morning session at the foot of the timesheets.

Colapinto’s stoppage meant he also covered the fewest laps of any driver in the first session in Bahrain with 28 on the board.

Sainz and Williams were at the top of the lap count with 77, two more than Lindblad.

A full report from the morning session in Bahrain is available at the bottom of this article.

F1 results: Bahrain pre-season test: 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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