Problems for Red Bull and Hadjar during second test day in Bahrain
Published on 12 February 2026 by Florence Cobben
Oracle Red Bull Racing kicked off the second day of testing on the wrong foot. The team reported they were facing a routine issue, meaning Isack Hadjar had to remain in the garage until the session's closing phases. Only towards the end was he able to take to the track, after the RB22 was declared track-ready. Later today, in the afternoon session, he will be offered a new opportunity to take the RB22 for a spin. Lando Norris put in the most mileage for McLaren with 64 laps completed and set the second-quickest lap time, hot on the heels of fastest man Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
The opening day of testing in Bahrain proceeded faultlessly for Oracle Red Bull Racing. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen completed no less than 136 laps around the track, and noted the second-fastest time of the day. On day two, Max passes the baton to teammate Isack Hadjar, who will be the sole Red Bull-driver on track today. However, Hadjar's day gets off on the wrong foot, with the team reporting a routine issue with the car’s build, benching the young driver for the foreseeable future.
The brand-new American team Cadillac does take to the track, but Max’s former teammate Sergio Pérez immediately runs into difficulties as the car grinds to a halt at the pit exit. A red flag is waved, and Pérez’s car is safely removed behind the barriers. At the falling of the flag, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) sits at the top of the timesheets, having set a 1:39.6 on hard tyres.
McLaren’s Lando Norris sets the first truly competitive time, clocking a 1:35.7 on the soft compound. The Brit also carries out several longer runs, each different to the other – likely owing to the team’s efforts to fine-tune an optimal strategy for charging and deploying the new systems on this generation of cars.
Ferrari’s second day also gets off to an encouraging start. Charles Leclerc takes over from teammate Lewis Hamilton and sets a 1:34.4 on the soft tyres, before later improving to a 1:34.2 – a benchmark no other driver manages to challenge for the remainder of the morning session. Ferrari also maximizes their mileage, completing 62 trouble-free laps, exceeding a full race distance in Bahrain. Cadillac, also running a Ferrari power unit, recovered well from their initial blunder and Pérez closes the session with 42 laps to his name. Norris ends the session with the most laps under his belt; 64 in total.
Oracle Red Bull Racing manages to get the car on track in the session’s final moments, allowing Hadjar some much-needed initial track time. He will return in the afternoon to properly get his test programme underway. Mercedes, meanwhile, also faced similar setbacks, with Kimi Antonelli only managing three laps before running into engine issues. Antonelli's test day ends there, as he will be passing the baton to George Russell for today’s afternoon session.
