F1 Bahrain second pre-season test: What to expect
- Peter Johnson
- 7 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Written by Peter Johnson, Edited by Meghana Sree
Everything you need to know ahead of F1's final round of pre-season testing in Bahrain for the new regulatory era.
What’s better than an F1 pre-season test? That’s right - TWO F1 pre-season tests! All 11 teams reconvene at the Bahrain International Circuit this Wednesday for the final three days of running before the 2026 season begins in earnest.
Recap of the first test
For all but one of the teams, the first test in Bahrain was not the first proper running of the year. Every outfit except Williams had already conducted a shakedown in Barcelona, although Aston Martin only managed to run for the final day and a bit.
The main takeaway from the Spanish shakedown was the reliability of the brand-new power units, which along with the aerodynamics, fuel and tyres have been transformed for this year.
This pattern tended to repeat itself at Sakhir, notwithstanding the occasional hiccup, such as Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari trundling to a halt moments before the chequered flag on Friday afternoon.
All 11 teams completed meaningful running across the three days, with McLaren and Williams leading the way with 422 laps, and Ferrari just a fraction behind with 420.
Red Bull and RB, with their new Red Bull-Ford powertrains, completed 422 and 343 laps respectively, while pre-season favourites Mercedes managed 282.
The pecking order thus far
At the front, the story seems to be that if you have a Mercedes engine you are in for a positive season, with McLaren continuing to impress, while Alpine look to have taken a step forward having switched to Mercedes power.
The works team did suffer some power unit gremlins later in the week, though, as well as suspension issues.
This didn’t stop Kimi Antonelli posting the fastest lap time of the week with a 1:33.619 on the final day of running, but it does leave the Silver Arrows a little short on the mileage count.
George Russell claimed the Silver Arrows had instead taken a step backwards at Sakhir, describing the first test as a “reality check”.
There may also yet be a cat — or rather a prancing horse — among the pigeons.
Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz teased that, based on the long runs of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday respectively, Ferrari had the fastest race pace in the first test.
True as this may be, it does not account for differing engine modes, a point Leclerc was swift to allude to, suggesting Mercedes may be “hiding a massive amount”.
It was a worrying week, though, for Aston Martin, who in racking up 206 laps posted significantly fewer miles than any other team. While Adrian Newey’s bold aerodynamic concept may be turning heads up and down the paddock, concerns that the Honda engine — which Aston are the only team to run this season — is well off the pace appear genuine.
Lance Stroll suggested Aston could even be between four and four-and-a-half seconds a lap slower than rivals - even if this turns out to be a slight exaggeration, it would be a painful case of déjà-vu for teammate Fernando Alonso, for whom this would not be a first rodeo with an underperforming Honda engine.
New regulations divide the drivers
Alonso really did not appear to have an enjoyable time during the first test, as he was one of a number of drivers to voice his disapproval about the lack of racing purity created by the new engine regulations and emphasis on battery management.
The veteran Spaniard suggested that unlike in the past, when fast corners were previously the ultimate test of a driver’s skill and commitment, the new regulations demand a more conservative approach.
He said: “In [turns] 10 and 12, we are like 50 kilometres per hour lower because we don’t want to waste energy there and we want to have it all on the straights. So you do 10 and 12, instead of 260, at 200.
“The chef can drive the car in 10 and 12 at that speed.”
Seven-time champion Hamilton echoed Alonso’s sentiment about the lack of pure racing: "If you look at Barcelona, for example, we're doing 600 metres lift and coast on a qualifying lap. That's not what racing is about.
"We can't recover enough battery power, so that's why we have to go and rev the engines very, very, very high. So we're going down to second and first in some places just to try to recover that extra bit of power."
It was a hat-trick of former champions to criticise the 2026 cars, as Max Verstappen described the new regulations as “anti-racing” and likened the new cars to “Formula E on steroids.”
However, F1’s newest world champion Lando Norris offered a rather different view, challenging Verstappen to retire from the sport if he wasn’t satisfied.
He said: "F1 changes all the time, sometimes it's a bit better to drive, sometimes not as good to drive. But yeah, we get paid a stupid amount of money to drive so you can't really complain at the end of the day.
“It’s a fun challenge for the engineers, for the drivers. You have to drive it in a different way and understand things differently and manage things differently. But you still get to drive cars and travel the world and have a lot of fun. So no, nothing to complain about.”
What to look out for in the second test
To the naked eye, the second week of testing will likely look rather similar to the first, with teams aiming to pile up as many laps as possible using a variety of setups.
However, internally the focus will shift from reliability and general understanding of the cars to out-and-out performance.
For the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari, who have all impressed so far, it will be a case of delivering more of the same for the next three days.
For Williams and Aston Martin, who both lag way behind in terms of running so far, this week is crucial for them to restore parity. In the case of Aston, whose Honda engine is already causing concern, the test could yet prove a torturous exercise as other teams begin to turn up the wick on their own power units.
New boys Cadillac have plenty to smile about so far, having completed an impressive chunk of laps in Spain and Bahrain with minimal fuss. The team is, however, still expected to begin life in F1 at the back of the field, and the second test is a final opportunity to try to close the gap.
Any issues or gremlins that limit track time could prove particularly costly this week, with no more running until Practice 1 in Australia on 6th March.
