Audi brought the second session of the opening day of Bahrain 2026 Formula 1 testing to a brief halt when Nico Hulkenberg came to a stand 90 minutes in.
Hulkenberg had been on a personal best lap when he slowed in the R26 in the final sector, with warning lights flashing on the car's mirrors.
The car stopped 100 metres from the pitlane entrance and ultimately required the red flag to be shown. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) was the only other driver on track when that decision was taken.
Prior to that, Hulkenberg had gone eighth fastest on a 1m38.506s, three seconds off the pace and just ahead of team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, who drove in the morning session.
Whatever caused Audi's problem was rectified extremely quickly - with Hulkenberg back on track little over 15 minutes after coming to a stand.
Max Verstappen's benchmark from the first session remained the fastest time for Red Bull. He increased his running total to 90 laps, and set two laps within four tenths of his 1m35.433s best for the day.
The remaining seven drivers who took over cars for the afternoon session have all now taken to the track. Gasly was the last of those to join, nearly an hour and 20 minutes in, but did complete 10 laps uninterrupted prior to the red flag.
Only Lando Norris, who completed 11 in-and-out laps, and Kimi Antonelli, were yet to set times. Antonelli had completed only one lap in the Mercedes at the time of the red flag.
