Under the pale winter sun of Barcelona and the desert glare of Bahrain, George Russell turned pre-season testing into his own personal endurance contest.
By the time the chequered flag fell, the Mercedes charger had logged a mighty 688 laps – more than anyone else in the 2026 field – earning unofficial bragging rights as Formula 1’s “marathon man”.
Bookmakers may already fancy him for the title, but Russell preferred to let his right foot do the talking. Two Mercedes power unit swaps briefly stalled his charge, likely costing him a shot at the 700-lap mark, yet they did little to dent his dominance.
Behind him, Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad surged late to 654 laps, including a table-topping 165 on the final day, vaulting past Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were separated by just seven laps, while Lewis Hamilton shared 10th with Kimi Antonelli.
At the other end of the mileage marathon, Lance Stroll managed 139 laps – 549 fewer than Russell – in testing’s most lopsided statistic.
Total Mileage per Driver – From Barcelona to Bahrain
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laps Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 688 |
| 2 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 654 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 651 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 627 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 557 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 552 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 547 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 546 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 539 |
| =10 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 516 |
| =10 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 516 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 501 |
| 13 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 488 |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 463 |
| 15 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 440 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 410 |
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 374 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | 373 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 371 |
| 20 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 327 |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 255 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 139 |
Fastest Laps per Driver – Second Week of Bahrain Pre-Season Testing
F1 teams upped the pace during the second week of pre-season testing in Bahrain as drivers pushed their machines to the limit, posting their quickest laps of pre-season testing in Sakhir.
Below is a complete list of the fastest laps achieved by each driver and their corresponding tyre compound (from C3-the hardest, to C5-the softest), highlighting who showed early pace heading into the 2026 Formula 1 season.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Fastest Lap | Compound | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m31.992s | C4 | Day 3 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1m32.803s | C3 | Day 2 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1m32.861s | C3 | Day 3 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1m32.871s | C3 | Day 3 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m33.109s | C3 | Day 3 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m33.197s | C3 | Day 3 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1m33.408s | C3 | Day 2 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1m33.421s | C5 | Day 3 |
| 9 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | 1m33.487s | C4 | Day 3 |
| 10 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1m33.755s | C4 | Day 3 |
| 11 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1m33.818s | C5 | Day 2 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1m33.987s | C4 | Day 2 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1m34.149s | C4 | Day 3 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1m34.201s | C4 | Day 2 |
| 15 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1m34.260s | C4 | Day 1 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1m34.342s | C5 | Day 3 |
| 17 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1m34.532s | C4 | Day 2 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1m34.555s | C5 | Day 2 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1m35.290s | C3 | Day 3 |
| 20 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1m35.369s | C5 | Day 2 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1m35.974s | C3 | Day 1 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1m36.536s | C3 | Day 1 |
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