Major time gains in Bahrain: who improved the most in pre-season testing
After Mercedes set the pace during the first Bahrain winter test, Ferrari completed the fastest time this week. GPblog reviews how much each driver improved this week in Sakhir.
The two drivers who made the biggest jump were Pierre Gasly and Arvid Lindblad. Both drivers improved their quickest times by more than three seconds.
After being on top during Week 1, Mercedes was among the team that improved the least, as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli could only find seven and eight tenths of a second respectively. Lewis Hamilton was the third driver who gained less than a second. Red Bull's Max Verstappen improved his quickest time by around 1.7 seconds.
Compared to last year's quickest lap during pre-season, Leclerc's best is 2.644 seconds slower than Carlos Sainz's 2025 benchmark.
It is also important to underline that the engine modes and the fuel loads of the cars are unknown, so the real picture could still be completely different in Melbourne in two weeks' time.
Improvements from Week 1 to Week 2 in Bahrain
| Position (Week 2) | Driver | Week 1 - Best lap time | Week 2 - Best lap time | Improvement |
| 1. | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 1:34.273 | 1:31.992 | -2.281s |
| 2. | Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | 1:33.669 | 1:32.803 | -0.866s |
| 3. | Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | 1:34.549 | 1:32.861 | -1.688s |
| 4. | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 1:34.669 | 1:32.871 | -1.798s |
| 5. | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 1:34.798 | 1:33.109 | -1.689s |
| 6. | George Russell (Mercedes) | 1:33.918 | 1:33.197 | -0.721s |
| 7. | Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | 1:34.209 | 1:33.408 | -0.801s |
| 8. | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | 1:36.765 | 1:33.421 | -3.344s |
| 9. | Oliver Bearman (Haas) | 1:35.394 | 1:33.487 | -1.907s |
| 10. | Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) | 1:36.670 | 1:33.755 | -2.915s |
| 11. | Franco Colapinto (Alpine) | 1:35.806 | 1:33.818 | -1.988s |
| 12. | Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) | 1:36.291 | 1:33.987 | -2.304s |
| 13. | Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) | 1:37.470 | 1:34.149 | -3.321s |
| 14. | Esteban Ocon (Haas) | 1:35.578 | 1:34.201 | -1.377s |
| 15. | Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) | 1:35.610 | 1:34.260 | -1.350s |
| 16. | Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) | 1:37.186 | 1:34.342 | -2.844s |
| 17. | Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) | 1:36.808 | 1:34.532 | -2.276s |
| 18. | Alexander Albon (Williams) | 1:36.793 | 1:34.555 | -2.238s |
| 19. | Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) | 1:36.824 | 1:35.290 | -1.534s |
| 20. | Sergio Perez (Cadillac) | 1:37.365 | 1:35.369 | -1.996s |
| 21. | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) | 1:38.165 | 1:35.974 | -2.191s |
| 22. | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) | 1:38.248 | 1:36.536 | -1.712s |
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