Race of Speed and Mishaps at Bahrain Test

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the pack during the second morning of Bahrain’s pre‑season test. He clocked a 1m34. 273s lap, beating McLaren’s Lando Norris by four-tenths of a second. Norris set his best time on medium tyres, while Leclerc ran softs throughout the session. The British driver finished second with a 1m34. 784s lap, also on mediums. Other teams struggled to keep up. Every other car was at least 2. 4s slower than Leclerc, a gap that shows the challenges faced by the top contenders. Red Bull ran only one lap at the end of the morning. A hydraulic leak in the chassis was discovered during yesterday’s build, forcing them to pull back. The team had planned for Isack Hadjar to drive the full day, but he was sidelined.Mercedes encountered a power‑unit problem with Andrea Kimi Antonelli after three laps. George Russell was scheduled to take over in the afternoon, but the issue left the team out of action for the rest of the morning. Sergio Perez from Cadillac caused a red flag on his first out‑lap for an unknown reason. After the car was recovered, he completed 42 laps with a best time of 1m38. 653s, slower than almost everyone except Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the fastest among the remaining teams, lapping in 1m36. 723s. Oliver Bearman (Haas), Alexander Albon (Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) followed behind. A virtual safety car and a red‑flag simulation ended the session, allowing teams to test their responses under simulated emergency conditions.