F1’s 2026 pecking order: Where do the teams stand ahead of the season opener in Australia?

Written by Mia Wallace, Edited by Meghana Sree

Pre-season testing offered the first glimpse at who leads the pack, who rounds out the mid-field and who lingers behind on the back foot. But which teams go where ahead of the season opener in Australia? 

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The long winter before the 2026 Formula One season opener has come to a close, and with it, has brought continued anticipation and a swell of questions. Following pre-season testing, we were teased with the answers to some of those enquiries: which teams are looking promising, how the new cars perform on track and who is still on the back foot. 

Of course, it is always important to note that testing won’t give us the full picture. Oftentimes, teams will utilise the time to experiment and assess reliability over raw speed. 

Still, the tests in both Barcelona and Bahrain, as well as last season's performances, can help paint a clearer picture regarding how teams are shaping up ahead of this season. Keeping these factors in mind, here is a comprehensive look at the team pecking order ahead of the season opener in Melbourne. 

The Frontrunners 

Mercedes 

Amidst all of the whispers surrounding the Mercedes power unit and potential loopholes to the regulations, Mercedes was originally projected to be a serious title contender, along with George Russell being elected as the overwhelming favourite to seize the 2026 Drivers’ Championship. During the Barcelona shakedown, the Silver Arrows put on a stunning display, topping the charts in the majority of the sessions. In Bahrain, momentum slowed considerably, following multiple PU issues and extended delays in the garage. 

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Still, the team was able to reconvene in the final week of testing, posting competitive laps, solid mileage and some of the fastest times of the weekend. Overall, Mercedes appears to be the benchmark for the new regulations, as their speed and workaround in their engine processing have surpassed many other contenders early. 

Ferrari 

The Prancing Horse entered the off-season searching for answers after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship and a winless campaign. But pre-season testing has dramatically shifted the narrative. 

Ferrari emerged as one of the standout performers across Barcelona and Bahrain, with Lewis Hamilton topping the timesheets in Spain and Charles Leclerc setting the fastest overall lap of the two-week Bahrain test.

Beyond outright pace, Ferrari’s testing form highlighted explosive launch performance, most notably when Hamilton surged from P5 to the lead into Turn 1 during a practice start. The strength off the line appears engine-related, as Haas, also powered by Ferrari, displayed similarly sharp getaways. Combined with an innovative rear-wing concept, strong reliability and a healthy lap count, Ferrari looks far more complete than they did 12 months ago.

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Hamilton also dismissed retirement speculation during testing, posting a message of intent on social media: “I’m not going anywhere, so stick with me. For a moment, I forgot who I was, but thanks to you and your support, you’re not going to see that mindset again. I know what needs to be done.”

If testing is any indication, Ferrari may finally have the foundation to back that confidence up.

Red Bull 

New season, new regulations, new engine supplier on the grid. During testing, Red Bull put their new power unit to the test in partnership with Ford Powertrains. The pairing of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar focused on data collection and coming to grips with the new system setup. 

Verstappen, a four-time champion, found himself only two points away from Lando Norris in last year's Drivers’ Championship. While he has expressed his distaste for the new regulations, it is expected that Verstappen will continue to perform at the highest standard. 

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When asked about how some of the other challengers were looking ahead of the season, Mercedes’ Russell was adamant that Red Bull holds an early edge, claiming that their engine advantage is “scary” and nobody “should be looking” at his own team as the one to beat. 

"I don't think anybody should really be looking at us; you should be looking at the most competitive car on the grid, which right now is the Red Bull," Russell said.

"They're not just a small step ahead, you're talking in the order of half a second to a second in deployment over the course of a lap, so it's pretty scary to see that difference.” 

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While there’s been a fair amount of speculation amongst the top four teams, it is important to note that it’s highly possible teams will delegate the “top contender” in order to mask their own developments. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Red Bull will combine a promising new engine with the talents of veteran Verstappen and 2025 Rookie of the Year Hadjar. 

McLaren

In the last two seasons of F1, the papaya team dominated. Reigning in two consecutive Constructors’ Championships and Norris’ maiden Drivers’ Championship last year, McLaren is without a doubt the team to beat this season. 

During testing, Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri were reliable, but not particularly flashy compared to some of the other top contenders. Although Norris and Piastri both spent some time at the top of the charts in various sessions, the speed of the McLaren never quite reached that of the other challengers.

While it’s entirely possible that the team is hiding some of its true pace, the drivers are also being quite honest about where they stand within the top four. When asked about where exactly the MCL40 sizes up in the ranks, Norris revealed that it was not quite at the top just yet. 

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“At the minute, we’re a little bit off. So to match the race pace of some of the others, we have to push a bit more, and then we have more degradation.

“But I know there are some things that were our strengths last year that will continue to be our strengths this season.”

The Mid-fielders

Haas

The quiet surprise and perhaps underdog favourite going into the season. Haas has an interesting situation in their camp, benefiting greatly from the Ferrari engine despite being generally considered a mid-field contender. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman each completed extensive programs with minimal drama, awarding the team one of its smoothest pre-seasons in recent memory. 

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One of the most crucial things to note is that the accelerated speed boost Ocon experienced during the practice start was reminiscent of Hamilton’s impressive jump in the practice start. This shared experience is no coincidence, further emphasising the projected straight-end speed delivered by the Ferrari engine. This could prove to be a secret weapon for the teams, especially in an era where the start could win or lose you a number of places.

Alpine 

A team that spent the majority of last year as the weakest link, and one that began testing with the significant hiccups. Still, Alpine emerges as one of the most improved outfits from the end of testing. 

Pierre Gasly had decently clean execution, along with a steady long-run pace overall. He finished P5 on the final day, deeming him one of the strongest comebacks of the pre-season testing. His teammate, Franco Colapinto, finished sixth overall after completing a solid 120 laps. 

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Despite not topping the charts, Alpine was able to capitalise and learn from a multitude of errors early-on. While they may not be a contender for the top of the mid-field glory, for the first time in a long time, Alpine doesn’t find themselves on the back foot going into the season. 

Racing Bulls 

Over at Racing Bulls, things were generally quiet but still productive during testing. The car appears to be decently durable: sustaining heavy mileage and a slew of data collection and tracking. 

The Red Bull sister team welcomes Arvid Lindblad, the sole rookie on the grid this season. Lindblad put up one of the highest single-day lap totals, adding even more valuable information to an already extensive set of data.

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While the team may not experience enough pace to fight it out at the top, it’s likely that the Racing Bulls won’t make things easy for the other midfield teams either. 

Williams 

Williams heads into the season opener with more questions than answers, but not without optimism. After missing early running in Barcelona, their Bahrain program was focused almost entirely on mileage and understanding the car’s baseline rather than chasing headline times. 

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The lap sheets weren’t eye-catching, yet the team steadily built data across long runs and race simulations; a sign that they’re prioritising long-term consistency over one-lap speed. If the car proves predictable and upgrade-friendly, Williams could quietly position themselves toward the upper end of the midfield once development gains momentum.

Audi 

Audi approached testing as a team laying foundations rather than making statements. Their sessions were defined by steady, methodical running and few dramatic swings in performance. While they didn’t trouble the high end of the timesheets, the lack of major reliability setbacks is significant for a developing project under new regulations. 

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Audi’s early-season ceiling may be limited compared to the established mid-field frontrunners, but their disciplined approach suggests steady progress. In a tightly packed mid-field, that stability could translate into consistent points finishes.

Who’s on the back foot?

Aston Martin 

Aston Martin was originally projected to be a serious threat in the 2026 season. Under esteemed designer and newly-appointed Team Principal Adrian Newey, many predicted that the Silverstone team would be leading the mid-field. 

Unfortunately, the team endured the most disruptive pre-season testing of the grid. Limited mileage in Barcelona was followed by persistent reliability interruptions in Bahrain, preventing Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll from completing consistent long-run simulations.

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"I don't know, right now we look like we're four seconds off the top team, four and a half seconds," Stroll said when asked if Aston Martin could catch up by the first race on 8th March.

"It's impossible to know what fuel loads and everything people are running, but, you know, now we need to try and find four seconds of performance."

The lack of track time makes it difficult to gauge the car’s true pace, but when it did run, it rarely threatened the mid-field benchmarks. With the new power unit integration still appearing unsettled, Aston Martin heads into the Australian opener needing both immediate reliability fixes and rapid aerodynamic refinement to avoid falling into an early points deficit.

Cadillac

As one of the newest operations on the grid, Cadillac approached testing open-minded and prepared to experiment. The focus was on systems checks, procedural sharpness, and accumulating as many clean laps as possible. 

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While there were flashes of respectable pace, particularly on lighter fuel runs, the overall picture suggests a team still building operational rhythm under race conditions. Both drivers brought out red flags during their sessions and faced interrupted runs. The priority now shifts to translating testing knowledge into race-weekend execution, as in a field as tight as this one, even minor inefficiencies can widen the performance gap quickly.

The countdown to lights out 

With mere days until lights out, the competitive order is starting to take form. The front appears to be hotly contested, the mid-field is tighter than ever and struggling teams are fighting to bounce back before they officially hit the track. 

Of course, not everything has been revealed just yet, but these early findings set the stage for an interesting opening round in Melbourne.