Antonelli Tops Day Two of Bahrain Testing
Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time of pre-season testing for Mercedes on Day Two in Bahrain, narrowly beating Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. The session highlighted both promising pace and concerning reliability issues for several top teams, including Ferrari and Aston Martin, with just one day of testing remaining before the season begins.
Mercedes junior driver Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time of 2026 pre-season testing so far, leading the timesheets on the penultimate day in Bahrain ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The session was marked by promising pace from the rookie and significant reliability issues for several teams, including Ferrari and Aston Martin, as the grid completed its final major preparations before the season opener.
Why it matters:
Pre-season testing times are notoriously difficult to interpret, but Antonelli's pace in the Mercedes will fuel speculation about the team's potential resurgence. More telling than the single-lap speed, however, were the varied reliability dramas that sidelined multiple front-running cars, offering a potential early glimpse into which teams have overcome the significant development challenges of the new 2026 regulations.
The details:
- Top of the Timesheets: Kimi Antonelli's best lap of 1:32.803 on C3 tyres edged out Oscar Piastri by 0.058 seconds. Max Verstappen was third, 0.359 seconds back, after leading much of the running.
- McLaren's Strong Pace: Both McLaren drivers featured in the top five, with Piastri's late flyer on C3s and Lando Norris setting the morning benchmark. The team also completed the highest lap count of the day with 158.
- Ferrari's Mixed Day: Lewis Hamilton finished fourth but lost significant morning running due to a technical problem on his SF-26, limiting him to 78 laps.
- Widespread Reliability Concerns:
- Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso stopped on track and finished the day a distant 15th, over 4.6 seconds off the pace.
- Cadillac struggled throughout, with Valtteri Bottas at the bottom of the order and Sergio Perez 14th after limited running.
- Racing Bulls and Williams also lost track time in the morning sessions.
- High Mileage Leaders: Despite his team's issues, Verstappen logged a formidable 139 laps for Red Bull. Williams' Alex Albon completed 117 laps after a delayed start.
What's next:
The final day of pre-season testing begins tomorrow, offering teams a last chance to resolve the reliability gremlins exposed today and finalize their setups for the Bahrain Grand Prix in two weeks' time. All eyes will be on whether Mercedes' single-lap pace is genuine and if the troubled teams can demonstrate cleaner, more consistent running before the clock runs out on winter preparation.