Lewis Hamilton propelled Ferrari to the top of the timesheets as pre-season testing resumed at the Bahrain International Circuit, leading the pace ahead of former Mercedes teammate George Russell in Thursday’s morning session.
Following a first day dominated by Lando Norris and McLaren, teams resumed their diverse testing programs amid similarly cool and breezy conditions—along with unexpected bursts of rain—at the heart of the Sakhir desert.
Hamilton, driving the SF-25 for a second consecutive morning, clocked a lap time of 1m 29.379s on C3 Pirelli tires, capitalizing on drier track conditions in the final hour before the lunch break.
Most teams will rotate drivers for the afternoon session, but Red Bull and Williams have opted to give Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz full-day runs—marking their final track time before the season opener in Australia.
Russell finished around four-tenths behind Hamilton, acknowledging that Mercedes feels “different” without the veteran driver. Carlos Sainz, just over seven-tenths adrift, secured third place in his Williams.
Notably, Russell was one of the busiest drivers on track amid the light showers, completing another race distance before handing the W16 over to his new teenage teammate, Kimi Antonelli, for the afternoon session.
Pierre Gasly secured fourth place in his Alpine, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda. Oscar Piastri claimed seventh for McLaren after an unusual incident involving returning Sauber driver Nico Hülkenberg.
Piastri and Hülkenberg were negotiating the Turn 8 hairpin—Piastri on the inside and Hülkenberg on the outside—when the Kick Sauber cut across and clipped the McLaren’s front wing, prompting a frustrated hand gesture from the Australian as they sped down the back straight.
Lawson secured eighth place in his second-to-last pre-season session, while Hülkenberg and Haas driver Esteban Ocon rounded out the standings before the FIA conducted procedural checks in the final five minutes.
Ocon was the sole driver to venture out in the toughest weather conditions, running a set of intermediates on the damp, slippery track. However, the rain soon subsided, allowing teams to switch back to slicks.
Teams will now pause for lunch and a debrief in the paddock before the second session of the day, set to begin at 15:00 local time.