Leclerc leads Ferrari's charge in second Bahrain test

Charles Leclerc set Ferrari's fastest lap of Bahrain pre-season testing so far during the opening hour of the second week, though the time still fell short of the overall benchmark set last week by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli. The session provided early glimpses of progress for some teams, like Aston Martin, while highlighting persistent challenges with the new technical regulations for others.

Why it matters:

Pre-season testing times are always contextual, but the opening laps of the second and final test week offer crucial clues about the competitive order and which teams have made tangible progress. With the season opener in Australia just two weeks away, teams are shifting from pure data collection to performance runs and race simulations, making any signs of speed or reliability issues highly significant.

The details:

• Ferrari's Pace: Leclerc's lap of 1m33.739s, set on unmarked C3 prototype tires supplied by Pirelli, was the team's best of testing but remained 0.070 seconds shy of Antonelli's test-topping time from the previous Friday.
• Mercedes & McLaren: Antonelli (1m34.473s) and McLaren's Lando Norris (1m34.766s) were second and third fastest in the early running, with Norris completing a solid 19 laps.
• Aston Martin's Step Forward: Fernando Alonso's early best of 1m36.536s was nearly two seconds faster than his comparable laps from the first test, suggesting the AMR26 is in a "slightly better place" after a difficult initial week.
• Regulation Hiccups: Nico Hulkenberg's Audi suffered two stalls during practice starts, underscoring the reported difficulty drivers are having with the new race start procedures and fueling calls for rule tweaks before Melbourne.
• Minor Issues: Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) had a brief power unit issue that left him without drive, while Sergio Perez's Cadillac spent the first hour in the garage before joining the track.

What's next:

The focus now shifts to long-run performance and race simulations as teams finalize their packages for the Australian Grand Prix. The stalling issues experienced by Hulkenberg will intensify discussions between teams and the FIA about potential clarifications or adjustments to the start rules to avoid chaos on the grid in Melbourne. With only a few days of testing left, every lap of data becomes critical for unlocking performance and reliability.