Max sets fastest time and completes 65 laps in first Bahrain test session

Published on 11 February 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished the first test session in Bahrain as the fastest driver. With a 1:35.433, he was almost two tenths quicker than the competition. In addition, the four-time world champion completed 65 laps, which is more than a race distance at the Bahrain International Circuit. Williams driver Carlos Sainz completed the most laps in the morning session. This afternoon, Max will be back in action for Oracle Red Bull Racing during the Bahrain test days.

After a week of private testing in Barcelona, testing begins in Bahrain from today. At the Bahrain International Circuit, the teams are preparing for the new season over six days of running split between this week and next. Max is driving both the morning and afternoon sessions today for Oracle Red Bull Racing. The four-time world champion is immediately active in the four-hour morning session. On his first timed lap, with aero rakes on the car, he sets a 1:48.9. Lap times don not mean much during testing. On the very next lap he is already four seconds quicker and then heads back into the pits. This is a so-called installation lap, to check that everything on the car is working properly.

Max’s first long run follows not long afterwards on the medium tyres. It is a fairly short stint of five laps, but very consistent. Max’s first lap is the quickest with a 1:38.2, and after that he records a series of laps in the low 1:39s. George Russell (Mercedes) is circulating at around the same time with laps in the high 1:38s. Which tyres he is on is a mystery. Even Formula 1 is still testing, as the timing screens do not always cooperate. For example, the timing shows Esteban Ocon having driven a lap on intermediates in dry, 25-degree Bahrain.

Alpine also need some time to get up to speed. Argentine driver Franco Colapinto stops on track, causing a red flag so the car can be placed behind the barriers and recovered to the French team. Five minutes later the session is resumed. After the red flag, Ocon improves the fastest lap on the soft tyres. With a 1:37.6 he goes quickest. Not long after, Max beats that time and is the first to dip into the 1:35s, setting a 1:35.4 on the mediums. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) moves up to P2 with a 1:37.0.

After his quick lap, Max switches back to longer runs on the medium tyres. He starts with laps in the 1:38s, which later drop into the 1:39s. During test days it is always important to mention that it is unclear how much fuel the teams are running and how much performance everyone is actually showing. More important is how many laps are completed without any issues. With one hour to go, Max has completed 40 laps, making him third in terms of total laps run. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) have both logged 51 laps at that point.

In the final hour, Piastri improves his time on the soft tyres, but still falls almost two tenths short of Max’s fastest lap. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver heads out a few more times, but continues to do so on the mediums. He finishes the session with the fastest time and 65 laps completed. Piastri and Russell complete the top three on the timesheets. Sainz ends up with the most laps in the morning session (77). Later today, Max will be back in action in the afternoon session.