Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets on day two of 2026 F1 Bahrain Testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Ferrari driver completed 140 laps on Thursday, posting a best time of 1:34.273 to lead Lando Norris and Ollie Bearman.
Despite Ferrari’s strong performance during the opening pre-season test, Leclerc remained cautious about reading too much into the results. The Monegasque driver emphasized the difficulty of judging true performance under the new 2026 regulations.
Cautious optimism following Leclerc’s 2026 F1 Bahrain Testing showing
Leclerc acknowledged Ferrari’s positive reliability during Bahrain Test 1 but stressed the limitations of drawing conclusions. Speaking in an interview with Formula 1 on Friday, the final day of testing, the Ferrari driver highlighted the increased complexity of the 2026 regulations.
“It’s only a feeling though, so for now I’ll stay really cautious because if last year you had only two or three things you could play with on the car to hide your potential, maybe now it’s 10 or 15 because with this new system there are so many ways you can really hide your performance more than previous years,” Leclerc stated.
Leclerc continued his assessment of his 2026 Bahrain Testing performance by separating reliability from outright pace. He evaluated Ferrari’s progress across both metrics in his analysis.
“So in terms of performance in itself it’s very difficult to know, in terms of reliability we are looking good and that’s true and that is a positive,” he explained. “But at the end performance is as much as reliability, but performance is also a very important thing that we need to excel at and we don’t really know where we are for now.”
Leclerc had completed a full day of running on Thursday during Bahrain Testing after splitting Wednesday’s opening session. Lewis Hamilton took over Friday’s running for Ferrari and posted the third fastest time. Hamilton completed approximately 150 laps before stopping on track in the closing minutes.
Teams hiding their true pace during testing
Leclerc expressed particular concern about competitors concealing their true pace during 2026 Bahrain Testing. The Ferrari driver singled out both Red Bull and Mercedes when discussing potential championship rivals in his Friday interview.
“I think Red Bull showed a little bit more than Mercedes and they’ve been very impressive. I think Mercedes is hiding a massive amount and yeah, only time will tell how much they’ve been hiding,” Leclerc stated.
Leclerc’s 2026 F1 Bahrain Testing assessment suggests uncertainty about the true pecking order. Red Bull demonstrated more representative pace while Mercedes appeared to be sandbagging significantly. The new 2026 regulations provide numerous opportunities for teams to mask genuine pace.
