F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing: Schedule And Driver Line-Ups

Who is driving and when during the second Formula 1 pre-season test this week?

Isack Hadjar, Red Bull | Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The second Formula 1 pre-season test begins at the Bahrain International Circuit as the new technical regulatory era opens to public scrutiny for the first time.

All 11 teams will be in action across the three days, with Williams joining its rivals having taken the decision to skip the first 'shakedown' week of testing in Spain last month.

That five-day test was held behind closed doors, but despite the usual teething issues experienced in testing, there was an element of surprise over how much reliability was on show at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, given the total reset of the chassis, aerodynamic, and power unit regulations.

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes | Mercedes-Benz Media

Teams will be afforded plenty of sunshine in Bahrain to hopefully get further acclimatized to the new machinery, a far cry from the cold, wet conditions in Spain that got on-track running underway for the year.

This week's test will be followed by the final test at the same venue next week, before the first grand prix of the season in Australia on March 8.

Bahrain F1 Second Pre-Season Test - Wednesday Driver Line-Ups

Both Ferrari and Cadillac are yet to announce their run plans at the time of writing.

Constructors' champions McLaren will split Wednesday's duties between Oscar Piastri [morning] and drivers' champion Lando Norris [afternoon].

Allow us to re-introduce ourselves…

MCL40, papaya style is here 🧡#McLarenF1 pic.twitter.com/pNH94Pydwv

— McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team 🧡 (@McLarenF1) February 10, 2026

That is a strategy also employed by Mercedes with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, Williams with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, Audi with Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad gets a full day behind the wheel, as does four-time champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.

The same can be said for Esteban Ocon [Haas] and Lance Stroll, who completed just four laps during Aston Martin's Spanish cameo.

Team	Driver - Morning	Driver - Afternoon
McLaren	Oscar Piastri	Lando Norris
Mercedes	George Russell	Kimi Antonelli
Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Max Verstappen
Ferrari	TBC	TBC
Williams	Carlos Sainz	Alex Albon
Racing Bulls	Arvid Lindblad	Arvid Lindblad
Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Lance Stroll
Haas	Esteban Ocon	Esteban Ocon
Audi	Gabriel Bortoleto	Nico Hulkenberg
Alpine	Franco Colapinto	Pierre Gasly
Cadillac	TBC	TBC

Bahrain F1 Second Pre-Season Test - Thursday Driver Line-Ups

Norris takes full control of the new McLaren on Thursday, while Isack Hadjar takes over from Verstappen in the Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso will only run on the second day before handing back to teammate Stroll on Friday, while Oliver Bearman and Gasly step into the Haas and Alpine for a full day of running.

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team

Mercedes, Williams and Audi continue to split duties between drivers, though the morning/afternoon schedules are flipped, while Liam Lawson will take on the morning for Racing Bulls.

Team	Driver - Morning	Driver - Afternoon
McLaren	Lando Norris	Lando Norris
Mercedes	Kimi Antonelli	George Russell
Red Bull	Isack Hadjar	Isack Hadjar
Ferrari	TBC	TBC
Williams	Alex Albon	Carlos Sainz
Racing Bulls	Liam Lawson	Arvid Lindblad
Aston Martin	Fernando Alonso	Fernando Alonso
Haas	Oliver Bearman	Oliver Bearman
Audi	Nico Hulkenberg	Gabriel Bortoleto
Alpine	Pierre Gasly	Pierre Gasly
Cadillac	TBC	TBC

Bahrain F1 Second Pre-Season Test - Friday Driver Line-Ups

Piastri returns to action on Friday as Mercedes switches back to its Wednesday schedule, led by Russell.

Verstappen and Hadjar take a half-day each, as do Sainz and Albon again at Williams.

Lawson will have a full day in the Racing Bull and Stroll gets a second full day for Aston Martin, while Haas splits duties for the first time.

Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Audi remains with the split between Bortoleto and Hulkenberg, with Colapinto relieving Gasly of control for Alpine.

Team	Morning	Afternoon
McLaren	Oscar Piastri	Oscar Piastri
Mercedes	George Russell	Kimi Antonelli
Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Isack Hadjar
Ferrari	TBC	TBC
Williams	Carlos Sainz	Alex Albon
Racing Bulls	Liam Lawson	Liam Lawson
Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Lance Stroll
Haas	Oliver Bearman	Esteban Ocon
Audi	Gabriel Bortoleto	Nico Hulkenberg
Alpine	Franco Colapinto	Franco Colapinto
Cadillac	TBC	TBC

The Latest Formula 1 News

Kimi Antonelli Involved in Car Crash Ahead of Bahrain F1 Testing

Aston Martin Reveals New F1 Livery as Honda Era and Adrian Newey Chapter Begin

Cadillac Reveals Their Very F1 First Livery During Super Bowl LX

How Cadillac Built an F1 Debut Engineered for Everyone