Ferrari's Leclerc Shines On Final Day Of F1 Pre-Season Tests

MUNICH, Feb 21 (Bernama-dpa) -- Ferrari's Charles Leclerc completed more than two race distances and topped the timesheets on the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain on Friday, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

Leclerc recorded 132 laps on the Sakhir course and no one came near his best time as world champion Lando Norris of McLaren was .817 of a second back in second place.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was third with a deficit of more than a second and Mercedes driver George Russell fourth.

McLaren engineers worked for a lengthy period on Norris' car while Aston Martin ended the session prematurely and after a mere six laps. The team experienced battery problems since Thursday and ran out of spare parts.

As part of sweeping new rule changes, the battery must provide 50 per cent of the energy for the cars' power units.

New team Audi had Gabriel Bortoleto in seventh and Nico Hülkenberg 15th.

Testing times give no clear indication of a team's strength, as teams often have different testing programmes, fuel loads, and tyres.

The 2026 season starts on March 8 with the Australian Grand Prix.

-- BERNAMA-dpa