Charles Leclerc quickest, just two laps for Aston ...

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Charles Leclerc considerably impressed by topping the ultimate morning of pre-season testing for the 2026 Method 1 marketing campaign, whereas additional issues struck Aston Martin in Bahrain.

The Ferrari driver set a 1m33.689s lap on the C3 tyre contained in the opening hour, and that’s the third session Leclerc has topped throughout the final two weeks.

Alongside going quickest, the Monegasque accomplished the second-most mileage on Friday morning with 80 laps of the Sakhir venue, which included a full race simulation halfway via.

In the course of the race sim, he used each the medium and arduous tyres on what was the second day of Ferrari running its unique rear wing, which has a 180-degree rotating upper flap.

It’s truthful to say that that’s been the discuss of testing this week, however when it comes to the precise leaderboard, Leclerc was 0.227s faster than Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli in second.

The 19-year-old additionally set his quickest lap on the C3, however he accomplished a lowly 49 excursions after inflicting the one crimson flag as he pulled off between Turns 10 and 11 halfway via.

Motorsport.com understands that Antonelli suffered a lack of pneumatic strain, inflicting the Silver Arrows to alter its energy unit, so he didn’t return for the remaining 100 minutes.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Picture by: Mark Sutton / Method 1 through Getty Photos

The highest three was then rounded out by Oscar Piastri, who was 0.663s off Leclerc after setting his lap on the C4 whereas finishing 66 laps within the McLaren – the joint fourth-most of the morning.

Subsequent was Esteban Ocon, who impressed for Haas by finishing essentially the most mileage with 82 laps whereas being slightly below two tenths shy of Piastri on the prototype tyre.

Isack Hadjar accomplished the highest 5 for Purple Bull, 0.822s behind Leclerc, whereas Pierre Gasly, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez all respectively rounded out the highest 10.

Rock-bottom was Lance Stroll for Aston Martin, which continued its horror pre-season check by solely finishing two laps this morning due to a parts shortage with its Honda power unit.

It got here after Stroll suffered an engine drawback on Wednesday, earlier than quickly spinning out with what additionally regarded like a technical fault. Fernando Alonso suffered the same energy unit subject on Thursday, so Stroll didn’t hit the observe till the ultimate 15-20 minutes on Friday morning.

The session then ended with the routine system checks that the FIA launched on Wednesday. Lando Norris, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Lindblad, Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Gasly and Valtteri Bottas will all contest this afternoon’s session, the place extra efficiency runs and glory laps are anticipated.

F1 Bahrain pre-season testing – Day 6 morning outcomes

Pos	Driver	Workforce	Greatest Lap	Hole	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:33.689	—	80
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:33.916	+0.227	49
3	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:34.352	+0.663	66
4	Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:34.494	+0.805	82
5	Isack Hadjar	Purple Bull	1:34.511	+0.822	59
6	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:34.846	+1.157	57
7	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:35.238	+1.549	77
8	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:35.252	+1.563	66
9	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:36.019	+2.330	64
10	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac	1:40.842	+7.153	61
11	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	—	—	2