Bahrain International Circuit, Friday, 20 February

Find out what happened on Day 3 of Pre-Season Testing 2 in Bahrain, and get the thoughts of McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella.

On track pre-season preparation concluded for the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team at the Bahrain International Circuit this evening with a total of 113 laps completed by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris during Day 3 of Formula 1’s Bahrain Pre-Season Testing 2.

Today’s first session saw Oscar take the MCL40 to track as he experienced Sakhir’s cooler morning conditions for the first time this week. This meant that the programme scheduled for the Australian driver was similar to that completed by his teammate during Thursday’s early running, with a mixture of low- and high-fuel runs that started off on the softer tyres.

During Friday’s mandatory lunch break, the team found a technical issue on the MCL40’s chassis that required time to be stabilised. This delayed the start of the afternoon session, with the team resuming running at 17:00 local time. Due to changes in the run plan caused by this, time limitations prevented Lando from completing the race simulation that was initially planned. However, despite the slight interference to running, the final day of testing was overall another important day of collecting data and allowed the team to learn more about the MCL40, with further understanding and development gathered from a wide range of areas, including car setup and reliability.

The conclusion of today’s sessions brings the total distance covered by the team throughout nine days of running at both the Barcelona Shakedown last month and the two recent tests in Sakhir to 5776.791km from 1,108 laps. Multiple opportunities for important learning have been experienced and collected throughout each lap completed by the MCL40 in 2026. The team will now review and analyse all data available before returning to track for the season opener in Melbourne next month.

Oscar Piastri

"That's testing done. A very productive three days this week in Bahrain and nine days of testing overall ahead of starting the season. Lots and lots learned about these new cars, so feeling in a good place ahead of going to Melbourne.

“There is still lots to unlock as we go through the first Free Practice sessions ahead of lights out, but we've worked through our testing plans well and made good progress across the board. Thank you to everyone in the team for getting us to this point, it's been a huge effort. Next up, Melbourne, my home race. It's always great to be there on home soil, so I am excited to get back out on track and to race the MCL40."

Lando Norris

“A good final day in Bahrain. We found a small chassis issue on the car at lunchtime, which meant our running in the afternoon was delayed. As a result, we didn't get the full race simulation we had planned done, but we were still able to get some important track time, especially with the practice start at the end. Overall, it's been a solid nine days of testing, and we have learned a lot about these new regulations of cars and how to extract performance from them, especially around the new power units.

“A huge thank you to the team for all of their work, which has meant we have set ourselves up well for Australia. I am excited to get racing."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“Following the conclusion of Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain, we’re encouraged by the MCL40’s reliability and the extensiveness of learning we have achieved with every lap completed. We have successfully signed off our test items and the core functionality and reliability of the car while enabling long runs and systematic familiarisation of setup, aerodynamics, and tyres, as well as power unit maximisation. Each day we have been able to add more performance, which is pleasing to see, and we now have a clear handle on the car’s potential as we enter the new era of Formula 1.

“One area that continues to be highlighted is that the driver’s role this season under the new regulation is even more challenging, and we’re committed to giving Lando and Oscar the tools to extract the maximum performance. We acknowledge that they will be busier managing the power unit without compromising lap time or race craft, and we’ll continue to work closely with HPP to build further understanding and tools for the management of engine control and exploitation, who have done a good job so far.

“The nine days of Pre-Season on track in Barcelona and Bahrain has validated our programme and highlighted clear priority areas of learning and development. We will, therefore, collaboratively work through these with the team in Woking to continue our preparation for the first race weekend of the season. There’s more to learn, and we’ll keep developing as the season goes on to enhance our competitiveness. Thank you to everyone at McLaren Mastercard for their great work so far. We now go racing.”