Six working sessions, 22 drivers, a completely new technical regulation from start to finish, and the Sakhir circuit once again serving as an open-air laboratory. The 2026 Formula 1 pre-season tests left a mountain of data to interpret and, as every year, the challenge of separating the real signals from the background noise. Here is what we were able to gather.

The Big Picture

The best time of the first session was a 1:34.669 by Lando Norris and that of the last session a 1:31.992 by Charles Leclerc. An improvement of 2.677 seconds that illustrates two things. First, that the teams arrived in Bahrain with a lot of margin to discover in cars radically different from those of 2025. Second, that the learning curve accelerated notably in the second week.

McLaren and Consistency as an Argument

Norris led the first day of testing and McLaren was the only team that positioned both its drivers in the top 5 almost systematically across the six sessions. Oscar Piastri ended up 10 thousandths behind Russell in the fourth session and 58 thousandths behind Antonelli in the fifth. Norris closed with a 1:32.871, placing him less than nine-tenths off the absolute best time.

The most revealing data lies in the pattern, not the fast lap, because McLaren didn't push on the final day. Norris finished second, 0.879s behind, and Piastri dropped to eleventh place with a 1:34.352, a typical behavior of teams prioritizing long runs and tire degradation over qualifying times. Of all the teams, McLaren projects the greatest solidity heading into the season start.

Photo By Mclaren

Ferrari with Leclerc at the Front

Leclerc set the 1:31.992 in the last session, comfortably the fastest lap of the entire pre-season, although it wasn't an isolated case as the Monegasque had already led the second session of the first week with a 1:34.273. Ferrari grew from less to more, and Leclerc led two of the six sessions, equaling Antonelli and more than any other driver on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton ran in four of the six sessions and was competitive every time he was on track, with a third place on February 13th and a fourth on February 19th. His best time, a 1:33.408, places him seventh in the combined standings.

Photo By Ferrari

Mercedes and Antonelli's Data Point

Kimi Antonelli led two sessions, equaling Leclerc, more than any other driver. His 1:33.669 from February 13th and his 1:32.803 from February 19th place him second in the combined standings, ahead of both McLarens and Verstappen. Mercedes seems to have made a considerable step compared to 2025 because George Russell ran on all six days and remained between fourth and sixth place with notable consistency, closing with a 1:33.197 which leaves him sixth overall.

The unanswered question is whether the W17 maintains that pace in race stints or if we are seeing a car optimized for a fast lap.

Photo By Mercedes F1

Red Bull with Speed but Questions

Max Verstappen recorded competitive times every time he went out on track. His 1:33.109 on the final day is the fifth-best absolute time and his 1:33.162 on February 19th was third in that session. He ran four out of six sessions, in line with the rest of the grid.

Isack Hadjar, coming off a solid 2025 season with Racing Bulls including a podium at Zandvoort, recorded a best time of 1:34.260 on February 18th. He ran four sessions and was consistent without matching Verstappen's times. Red Bull has speed, but we don't know if they have reliability, and with new regulations, that's the variable that weighs the most.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

Alpine and Haas in the Midfield

Alpine showed an interesting evolution over the six days. Pierre Gasly closed with a 1:33.421, placing him eighth in the combined standings. Franco Colapinto posted a notable 1:33.818 on February 19th. The Argentine replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine midway through the 2025 season and secured his continuity for 2026, and these tests suggest the French team was right with that bet. His first day was a 1:40.330 and his best time represents a difference of over six seconds, the biggest individual evolution of the entire grid.

Haas completed solid tests with Oliver Bearman ninth in the combined standings thanks to a 1:33.487, and Esteban Ocon provided stability with a 1:34.201 as his best time. The team finds itself in the direct fight for the top of the midfield.

Photo By Alpine

Audi Under Construction

The best time for Nico Hülkenberg, a 1:33.987, places him eleventh in the combined standings, exactly two seconds behind Leclerc. Gabriel Bortoleto improved consistently, closing with a 1:34.215, a reasonable result for a driver in his second season who also has to adapt to a team in full transition. Audi is not where it would like to be, but it's also not where many feared. The margin for improvement exists and the question is whether the development pace will be enough to close the gap.

Photo By Audi

Williams with Sainz as Reference

The arrival of Carlos Sainz gave Williams something it had lacked for years: a reliable reference point. The Spaniard improved each day he ran, closing with a 1:34.342, and Alexander Albon posted a 1:34.555 on February 19th. Both times place the team in a midfield that, while not spectacular, represents a step forward compared to previous seasons.

Racing Bulls and Lindblad's Adaptation

Arvid Lindblad closed the pre-season with a 1:34.149, the thirteenth absolute best time, and more important than the lap time was his progression from an initial 1:37.945 to that final time, demonstrating an accelerated learning capacity. Liam Lawson, coming off an inconsistent 2025 with a brief stint at Red Bull Racing before returning to Racing Bulls mid-season, was more inconsistent with a best time of 1:34.532, placing him behind his teammate. The team seems settled between the midfield and the lower part of the grid.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

Aston Martin as the Biggest Unknown

The numbers from Aston Martin are the hardest to interpret of the entire grid, and not in a good way. Fernando Alonso recorded a best time of 1:36.536 on February 18th, more than four and a half seconds behind Leclerc. Lance Stroll closed the pre-season with a 1:46.464, a time that, even accounting for track issues, is baffling. The AMR26 needs a significant jump before Melbourne. The question is whether these tests show the car's true level or if Aston Martin deliberately hid performance. The former is worrying, and the latter would be a risky strategy that doesn't align with the team's recent trajectory.

Cadillac and Their First Taste of Reality

Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas alternated decent sessions with others far off the pace, and Bottas's 1:35.290 on the final day was his best time, 3.3 seconds behind Leclerc. For a new team with two drivers coming off a year without competing — Pérez was out after leaving Red Bull at the end of 2024 and Bottas was a Mercedes reserve in 2025 — the re-adaptation is a factor that cannot be ignored. The accumulated experience of both will be fundamental in guiding development, but the pre-season times show the reality of a project starting from scratch.

Photo By Cadillac

What Do These Tests Really Tell Us?

The provisional hierarchy sketched out by the lap times places McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes in a leading group separated by tenths, with Red Bull as the fourth contender due to doubts about reliability. Alpine and Haas fight for the head of the midfield, while Aston Martin and Cadillac have the most work ahead of them.

But pre-season tests are what they are: an exercise in interpretation with hidden variables. Fuel loads, engine modes, tire programs, and internal team instructions mean any ranking based exclusively on lap times is, at the very least, incomplete. What we can say is that the new regulations have produced a more open grid than many expected, and that the 2026 Formula 1 season promises an intense fight from the start. The real picture arrives on March 8th in Melbourne.

F1 2026 — Test Pretemporada Baréin

11–13 y 18–20 de febrero · Tiempos absolutos por jornada

P	Piloto	Equipo	11 Feb	12 Feb	13 Feb	18 Feb	19 Feb	20 Feb	MEJOR	Gap
1	#16Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:35.190	1:34.273	—	1:33.739	—	1:31.992	1:31.992
2	#12Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:37.629	—	1:33.669	1:34.158	1:32.803	1:33.916	1:32.803	+0.811s
3	#81Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:35.602	—	1:34.549	1:33.469	1:32.861	1:34.352	1:32.861	+0.869s
4	#1Lando Norris	McLaren	1:34.669	1:34.784	—	1:34.052	1:33.453	1:32.871	1:32.871	+0.879s
5	#3Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:34.798	—	1:35.425	—	1:33.162	1:33.109	1:33.109	+1.117s
6	#63George Russell	Mercedes	1:36.108	1:36.458	1:33.918	1:33.459	1:34.111	1:33.197	1:33.197	+1.205s
7	#44Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:36.433	—	1:34.209	1:34.299	1:33.408	—	1:33.408	+1.416s
8	#10Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:36.765	1:36.723	—	1:35.898	—	1:33.421	1:33.421	+1.429s
9	#87Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	—	1:35.394	1:35.972	1:35.778	1:35.279	1:33.487	1:33.487	+1.495s
10	#43Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:40.330	—	1:35.806	1:35.254	1:33.818	—	1:33.818	+1.826s
11	#27Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1:36.861	1:37.266	1:36.291	1:36.741	1:33.987	1:36.019	1:33.987	+1.995s
12	#31Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:35.578	—	1:35.753	1:36.418	1:34.201	1:34.494	1:34.201	+2.209s
13	#41Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:37.945	1:37.470	—	1:36.769	—	1:34.149	1:34.149	+2.157s
14	#6Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	—	1:36.561	1:35.610	1:34.260	—	1:34.511	1:34.260	+2.268s
15	#5Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:38.871	1:36.670	1:37.536	1:35.263	1:35.263	1:34.215	1:34.215	+2.223s
16	#55Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:38.221	1:37.592	1:37.186	1:35.113	—	1:34.342	1:34.342	+2.350s
17	#30Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	—	1:38.017	1:36.808	1:35.753	1:34.532	—	1:34.532	+2.540s
18	#23Alexander Albon	Williams	1:37.437	1:37.229	1:36.793	1:35.690	1:34.555	—	1:34.555	+2.563s
19	#11Sergio Pérez	Cadillac	1:38.828	1:38.653	1:39.251	1:40.892	1:35.369	1:40.842	1:35.369	+3.377s
20	#77Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:39.150	1:36.824	1:38.772	1:36.798	1:40.193	1:35.290	1:35.290	+3.298s
21	#14Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	—	1:38.960	—	1:36.536	1:37.472	—	1:36.536	+4.544s
22	#18Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:39.883	—	1:38.165	1:35.974	—	1:46.464	1:35.974	+3.982s

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