F1 Bahrain pre-season test: Lando Norris leads Max…

Lando Norris has set a new fastest lap at Formula 1 Bahrain pre-season testing to head Max Verstappen, while Ferrari debuted a trick rear wing before being hit with a mechanical problem.

F1 world champion Norris posted a 1m33.453s on the C3 compound tyres to go 0.006s quicker than George Russell’s previous best set yesterday afternoon, taking top spot in the morning session by 0.131s from Red Bull’s Verstappen.

Ferrari grabbed attention earlier in the day with a new rear wing that rotated 180-degrees, a device permitted under F1’s new active aero rules, which reverted to its standard position under braking.

An eye-catching piece of engineering from Ferrari! 🤯

Early on Thursday morning, their rear wing could be seen rotating from an upside-down position on the straight, in a more dramatic fashion than any other active aero design we've seen so far... 👀#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/eEBmD0JsOk
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 19, 2026

But the Italian manufacturer’s joy was short-lived, as Lewis Hamilton was only able to complete five laps before being forced into the garage with an unspecified chassis issue. Hamilton was able to return to the track for the final five minutes to take part in the FIA race control systems check and practice starts.

With the majority of teams focused on race simulations and long runs, the outright best lap times weren’t challenged over the second half of the session, giving Norris the headline time for McLaren.

Russell took third place and the most-mileage moniker as the Mercedes driver posted 77 laps with relatively untroubled running. Alex Albon slotted into fourth place for Williams, also with a healthy 71-lap mileage.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari (Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Audi was another team to see its progress stalled by unreliability, as Gabriel Bortoleto was limited to 29 laps due to a hydraulics issue which required a lengthy precautionary check in the garage. The Brazilian still took fifth place on the times, having returned to the track in the final 40 minutes of the session.

Bortoleto’s late gains pushed Oliver Bearman into sixth for Haas and Franco Colapinto into seventh for Alpine.

Liam Lawson took eighth for Racing Bulls, having also been stuck in the garage for a lengthy period, which meant the Kiwi only completed 27 laps.

Fernando Alonso had another low-key outing down in ninth place for Aston Martin, four seconds off the outright pace set by Norris, and with 40 laps completed.

With Hamilton in 10th for Ferrari, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas completed the runners, having once again missed the early track activity due to a technical issue, but was able to get 58 laps completed later in the session.

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 5 morning results

Pos	Driver	Team	Best lap	Gap	Laps
1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1m33.453s	—	72
2	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1m33.584s	+0.131s	56
3	George Russell	Mercedes	1m34.111s	+0.658s	77
4	Alex Albon	Williams	1m35.130s	+1.677s	71
5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1m35.263s	+1.810s	29
6	Oliver Bearman	Haas	1m35.279s	+1.826s	69
7	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1m35.506s	+2.053s	54
8	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1m36.959s	+3.506s	27
9	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1m37.472s	+4.019s	40
10	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1m39.670s	+6.217s	5
11	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1m40.193s	+6.740s	58