George Russell ended day one of the final Formula 1 2026 pre-season test on top with a new fastest time of the Bahrain testing fortnight.
The Mercedes driver, who was one of 10 drivers in for the day's second session only, set his 1m33.459s with just over 30 minutes left on the clock to beat Oscar Piastri's previous best by 0.010 seconds.
Russell's effort was his second attempt at a push lap on a short stint on the C3 tyre. He had set the fastest first sector of all on his first attempt, only to snatch a brake into the tight Turn 10 left-hander and run deep.
Prior to that, Russell had reeled off an impressive nine-lap run on the C2 tyre where his average laptime was a 1m36.527s.
His 76-lap total was also the highest any driver managed.
The times set by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Piastri's McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli in the first session were good enough for third, fourth and fifth in the end-of-day times.
And the top seven - all from F1's 'big four' teams - were covered by 0.840s, with Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) sixth and seventh.
Hadjar recovered some lost ground for Red Bull after he had been limited to just 13 laps in the first session, adding 53 more after the lunch break.
He attempted a qualifying simulation towards the end of the day, though his final run on the softer C4 tyre did not yield an improvement.
Hamilton meanwhile had two extended spells of more than 20 minutes in the Ferrari garage that limited his total to 44 laps.
Williams's Carlos Sainz - on the C4 tyre - Franco Colapinto (Alpine) and Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10.
Aston Martin was responsible for the only car-induced red flag of the day when Lance Stroll spun at the end of the first hour after the lunchbreak, the AMR26 appearing to lose drive as Stroll downshifted for the Turn 11 left-hander.
He did manage 26 laps by the end of the day, and the 15th-fastest time, 2.515s off the pace, but Aston Martin's combined lap total was still the lowest of all - with Stroll and Fernando Alonso completing 54, five fewer than Cadillac pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez managed.
The final 10 minutes of the session were reserved for procedural checks, which included the FIA testing a new start procedure on the grid that every car except for the Aston Martin took part in.
Test 2, day 1 times
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m33.459s, 76 laps
2 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1m33.469s, 70 laps
3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m33.739s, 70 laps
4 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m34.052s, 54 laps
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1m34.158s, 69 laps
6 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) 1m34.260s, 66 laps
7 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1m34.299s, 44 laps
8 Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1m35.113s, 55 laps
9 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1m35.254s, 60 laps
10 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 1m35.263s, 71 laps
11 Alex Albon (Williams) 1m35.690s, 55 laps
12 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1m35.753s, 61 laps
13 Ollie Bearman (Haas) 1m35.778s, 42 laps
14 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1m35.898s, 61 laps
15 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m35.974s, 26 laps
16 Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1m36.418s, 65 laps
17 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1m36.536s, 28 laps
18 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) 1m36.741s, 49 laps
19 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 1m36.769s, 75 laps
20 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) 1m36.798s, 35 laps
21 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) 1m38.191s, 24 laps
