F1 Bahrain Testing: Charles Leclerc sets blistering pace from Lando Norris to finish test on top ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Charles Leclerc confirmed Ferrari are likely to be in the fight at the front at the start of the new F1 season after an impressive final day of testing; watch the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8, live on Sky Sports F1
Friday 20 February 2026 21:27, UK
Charles Leclerc topped the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing with a blistering lap to underline Ferrari's status as genuine contenders for the opening races of 2026.
Leclerc was 0.879s quicker than second-placed Lando Norris, who could be on the backfoot at the start of his title defence when the season begins at the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8, live on Sky Sports F1.
Ferrari elected to run Leclerc throughout Friday, with Lewis Hamilton watching on from the garage, and the Monegasque driver also impressed with his race simulation on the last day.
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Max Verstappen was third at 1.117s behind Leclerc and George Russell was 1.205s off the Ferrari pace, but Mercedes are still seen by most in the paddock as favourites for the first race in Melbourne.
Verstappen appeared to be pushing hard but did not have the single-lap pace of Leclerc, while Russell was three-tenths slower than Mercedes' best time of Bahrain testing, which came from Kimi Antonelli on Thursday - suggesting they were holding back.
Antonelli ran in the morning session but was limited to 66 laps due to a loss of pneumatic pressure in the engine, which cost the Italian teenager over two-and-a-half hours as Mercedes needed to change the power unit.
They managed to get Russell out on track relatively quickly but he perhaps did not show his car's true potential on his way to completing 82 laps.
Aston Martin are in the middle of a nightmare as Lance Stroll completed just six laps, failing to set a lap time due to a battery-related issue for Fernando Alonso on Thursday which limited engine supplier Honda's power-unit parts.
Mercedes vs Ferrari in Melbourne?
Leclerc's impressive final day has certainly ramped up the hype surrounding F1's famous red team ahead of Melbourne, with nobody getting close to his qualifying simulation.
But, it is the long-run pace and race simulations where the pecking order can be best judged from testing since teams may not run the engine at full pelt or have more fuel onboard over a single lap.
This can still be the case on long runs to an extent, but Ferrari have been quick across both Bahrain tests over a race stint, with Leclerc conducting a full race simulation at the hottest point of the day on Friday, which was not far off the best race simulations of this week's test.
Given the high track temperature which slows the track down, it was a statement run from Leclerc which Ferrari's rivals would have noticed.
"The test day was very smooth, we ran through our programme and tested all the things we planned to," said Leclerc, who has been at Ferrari since 2019.
"In terms of performance, it's still difficult to understand where we really stand because teams are hiding their true form, so it's important not to focus too much on lap times and prepare for the first race.
"We will build step by step and try to understand how to extract the maximum from our car, we have a lot of data to analyse before we arrive in Melbourne and we will see how things go once we are there."
The other 'Big Four' teams - Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull - did not complete race simulations on Friday but have shown their potential on other days. Mercedes had the best long-run times, while Red Bull appear to be behind McLaren and certainly Ferrari.
Behind that, Alpine and Haas look to be heading the midfield with Racing Bulls, Audi and Williams bringing up the rear of the midfield.
Aston Martin and Cadillac are in the battle not to be last, with the former hoping to finish the opening race without any issues, given their unreliable pre-season.
Perhaps fittingly, testing ended with a final practice start where Russell started from pole position and Leclerc was the second car on the grid in the fifth grid position.
Ferrari have been getting rocketship starts this week due to their small turbo but Russell held Leclerc off this time going down to Turn 1, which may have been a snapshot of what will happen in the season-opener in Melbourne on March 8.
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