Bahrain International Circuit, Thursday, 19 February

Find out what happened on Day 2 of Pre-Season Testing 2 in Bahrain, and get the thoughts of McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Technical Director, Applied Engineering Neil Houldey.

The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team continued their 2026 preparations on Thursday as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed 158 laps between them, covering a total distance of 855.096km on Day 2 of Bahrain Pre-Season Testing 2.

The team’s running for the second day saw a continued carryover of their programme from Wednesday’s time on track at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Throughout Thursday morning’s session, Lando focused on setup preparation with power unit and chassis testing in both Qualifying and race simulation laps. This also allowed a variety of high- and low-fuel runs to be completed, as the British driver recorded 72 laps in total on his second day on track.

Lando also experienced Pirelli’s C4 tyre for the first time this week, following Oscar’s time on the compound during Wednesday's afternoon running. This means both McLaren Mastercard drivers have now experienced all four of our chosen Pirelli compounds for this second test in Bahrain. By working through each individual tyre compound, the team have been able to gather important learnings alongside the valuable data collected through testing various items in both types of running.

Oscar completed the afternoon session in the MCL40, finalising his running with 86 laps. As seen throughout the team’s time on track yesterday, both drivers ran similar programmes to better understand the car’s operation and performance across multiple conditions. This, therefore, meant that Oscar’s run plan included a proper race simulation with pit stops, providing a more accurate account of what racing in Sakhir could look like come April’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

As part of the team’s race preparation and in line with the FIA’s start procedure trial, both drivers simulated their launch procedure. This aligns with the team’s objective of wanting to gather additional important learnings with each lap completed.

The team will conclude their Pre-Season Testing schedule tomorrow, focusing on expanding the knowledge assembled around the overall package of the MCL40. This will include maximising performance across the various racing modes available, while building on the productive information collected throughout pre-season. Lando and Oscar will continue to share driving duties throughout the day. Oscar will start off the running in the morning period before Lando drives the MCL40 for the closing afternoon session.

Lando Norris

“We made some more good steps today. We’re gaining more and more understanding of the tyres, the balance and the strengths and weaknesses of our cars. From a tyre perspective, the running of the same sets of tyres on both long and short runs to see how they perform was useful for our learning. It was also good to try the start procedure in these new regulation cars at the end of the morning session. One more session of running tomorrow before we go racing, but I am feeling more confident.”

Oscar Piastri

"Another productive day. With each day at these tests, we’re learning more about the car. We focused on some race preparation running this afternoon, seeing where we can find performance, which went well and we made some good improvements as a result. There’s still lots of performance to find, which is the case for every team on the grid, but overall, a smooth day. I’m looking forward to getting back on track in the morning to finish out testing.”

Neil Houldey, Technical Director – Applied Engineering

“Today, we have completed another strong and productive day on track in Bahrain with a total of 855.096km covered by Lando and Oscar. This is good to see at this stage of pre-season, with solid laps fulfilled by both drivers on various tyre compounds, providing valuable information and learning for the team to work on overnight before tomorrow’s concluding sessions.

“Overall, the MCL40 ran smoothly in both sessions, completing a number of good performance runs. Early indications suggest the package could be competitive, though it’s still too early to benchmark ourselves against others, but as far as today goes, it was another successful step in the right direction.

“As a team, we’re now aiming for a positive final day of testing as we continue to look for further gains in unlocking additional performance across all areas of the car. This includes building on what we have already learnt this week, when furthering our understanding of how to exploit the power unit across the different car setups. It’s also important that Lando and Oscar continue to maximise their driving experience under the new regulations on track, gaining valuable mileage and confidence as we head into the season.”