Antonelli Tops Day Two Of Second F1 Pre-Season Testing In Bahrain

BERLIN, Feb 20 (Bernama-dpa) -- Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes set the pace on the second day of the second Formula One pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Antonelli took part in the afternoon session and clocked 1 minute 32.802 seconds, just 0.058 seconds ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Max Verstappen in the Red Bull was third, followed by the Ferrari of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and title holder Lando Norris in the other McLaren.

Mercedes has been dominating the second week of pre-season training so far, with Russell topping Wednesday's session.

Drivers are still getting used to brand new cars as massive regulation changes, including overhauled aerodynamics and revised power units, came into force for the 2026 season.

In this second week of testing, F1 ruling body FIA will also experiment with tweaked start procedures amid safety concerns.

Due to the new rules, drivers now have to rev up the engine for around 10 seconds to get the turbos into the right operating window to get away from the grid.

Last week, a few cars were left stranded in the first Bahrain testing, which could be catastrophic in a real race situation.

This week, the FIA will test a longer start procedure at the end of each day. It will include a "pre-start warning," with grid panels flashing blue for five seconds. Once that ends, the usual start sequence will begin.

There's one more day of testing in Bahrain on Friday before the season starts at the Australian Grand Prix on March 8.

--BERNAMA-dpa