Leclerc remains cautious despite setting the benchmark time on Day 2 in Bahrain

F1 Test, Sakhir, Bahrain International Circuit

Completing a full day of running at the wheel of the SF‑26 on the second day of the three‑day programme, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc set the benchmark time at the Bahrain International Circuit. Despite his strong performance, the Monegasque remained cautios regarding his SF-26's competitiveness.

Although Leclerc and his team-mate Lewis Hamilton shared driving duties on the opening day in Manama, the Monegasque remained in the car for the entire day, completing 142 laps, equivalent to 769 kilometres, as Ferrari focused on set‑up refinement, tyre evaluation, and correlation work.

The Italian team reported a smooth and uninterrupted programme, allowing engineers to extract a wide range of information under varying track and temperature conditions.

The morning session saw Leclerc head out shortly after 10:00 local time, running exclusively on the C3 compound. Ferrari concentrated on set‑up checks and data collection, using a variety of stint lengths to understand tyre behaviour as the track evolved. Leclerc completed 62 laps in this phase, setting the day’s fastest time of 1:34.273, which would remain unbeaten.

Following the lunch break, Ferrari expanded its tyre comparison work. Leclerc resumed on the C3 before switching to the C2 and C1 compounds for two extended long runs. He added another 80 laps in the afternoon, recording a best time of 1:35.107 as the team continued to build a detailed picture of the SF‑26’s behaviour over long distances.

At the end of the day, Leclerc reflected positively on Ferrari’s progress, emphasising the importance of mileage and consistency over headline times.

“My running for this first test is now complete. We’ve completed the programme without issues, which is always a positive. It’s always nice to look at the lap times, but in testing they don’t really mean much: the focus has to stay on ourselves and our work.

"The feeling in the car is okay, but it’s still very early days. Today was about putting in as many laps as possible and completing all the tests we had planned. Now we keep working and continue building step by step.”

Ferrari will return to the track tomorrow for the final day of the first Sakhir test, aiming to consolidate the data gathered so far before shifting focus to next week’s second and final pre‑season session.