Pre-Season Testing [Bahrain]

[Nitrodaze]

The shakedown testing of Barcelona has whetted our appetites for F1 racing to resume. While the test showed that Mercedes has the edge over the rest of the grid, Ferrari's pace suggested that there might be more to what we saw than meets the eye.

The Bahrain test is where the cars would be driven in anger. The driver would be exploring the limits of their car to determine if they have the car under them that gives them a realistic chance of fighting for the driver's title this season.

The pecking order, as it were, shall be exposed by the end of the Bahrain test. And the stark reality of the prospect of each team shall dawn upon them as they head to Melbourne for the Australian GP.

I hope for a change; it is closer than previous seasons. One thing is certain: it would be vicious in the midfield. Racing Bull and Haas are well primed. Williams and Alpine would definitely be challenged strongly. It is unclear where Aston Martin would be located in all of this. But it would not be surprising if the usual order of things is shaken up somewhat.


Check out this article to read more: The 2026 Renaissance (https://medium.com/motor-racing/2026-f1s-season-of-renaissance-a90da482eb7a)

[Matthew]

Testing kicked off with a few early clues about the season. Lando ended up fastest (https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13505835/f1-bahrain-testing-lando-norris-tops-timesheet-on-first-day-but-max-verstappens-red-bull-impresses-rivals), Max second and Charles third, which already gives us something to talk about. If you want to get a sense of what teams are really doing on track and why times don’t tell the full story, this guide (https://www.fanamp.com/articles/f1-2026-pre-season-testing-explained) to 2026 pre-season testing explains it all. McLaren and Red Bull look strong again, while a few others are clearly still figuring things out.

[Nitrodaze]

Testing kicked off with a few early clues about the season. Lando ended up fastest (https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13505835/f1-bahrain-testing-lando-norris-tops-timesheet-on-first-day-but-max-verstappens-red-bull-impresses-rivals), Max second and Charles third, which already gives us something to talk about. If you want to get a sense of what teams are really doing on track and why times don’t tell the full story, this guide (https://www.fanamp.com/articles/f1-2026-pre-season-testing-explained) to 2026 pre-season testing explains it all. McLaren and Red Bull look strong again, while a few others are clearly still figuring things out.

Dusty and windy in the morning session. Lots of lock-up and spins. Surprisingly, reliability is higher than I expected. The best lap of the day was a good six seconds shy of the qualifying time of last season. And two seconds slower than the fastest lap of the first day of testing last year.

Clues of the pecking order are still unclear.

[F1nKS]

Day 2

May not still know the pecking order, but we are seeing the "haves and have-nots".

[b]The Haves[/quote]

Ferrari
McLaren
Red Bull

[b]The Maybe[/quote]
Mercedes - I wonder if they are sandbagging in the hopes the engine controversy goes away?
Haas
Audi
Alpine

[b]Have-nots[/quote]
Williams
Cadillac
Aaston Martin
Racing Bulls

Max - says he hates the 2026 car. Complains F1 is just Formula E on steroids, the "anti-racing" regulations may have him walk away from Formula 1.

Aston Martin - Newey magic does not look to be real.

Hamilton has called the 2026 cars "ridiculously complex."

[F1nKS]

Day 2

May not still know the pecking order, but we are seeing the "haves and have-nots".

The Haves

Ferrari
McLaren
Red Bull

The Maybe
Mercedes - I wonder if they are sandbagging in the hopes the engine controversy goes away?
Haas
Audi
Alpine

Have-nots
Williams
Cadillac
Aaston Martin
Racing Bulls

Max - says he hates the 2026 car. Complains F1 is just Formula E on steroids, the "anti-racing" regulations may have him walk away from Formula 1.

Aston Martin - Newey magic does not look to be real.

Hamilton has called the 2026 cars "ridiculously complex."

[Nitrodaze]

Mercedes is definitely sandbagging. They are at least 6 tenths ahead of everyone on. the same tyre. I think the whole engine debacle is causing them to sandbag.

The order that is shaping up is

Mercedes
Ferrari
Redbull
McLaren
Alpine
Haas or Racing Bulls
Williams
Aston Martin
Audi
Cadillac

But this may change by the end of Day 3. It may not be the order when we arrive at Melbourne also.

Mind you, the qualifying time from last season was 1:29.841. Russell's time this morning is 1:33.918, which is four seconds behind. There is still a lot of ground to catch up. If Russell's time turns out to be the fastest lap possible with these new 2026 cars, then the speed has been severely reduced to near F2 level, which is very bad for F1. It would mean the FIA has got the 2026 regulation very wrong. They have tweaked away the speed of F1.

[F1nKS]

Mercedes is definitely sandbagging. They are at least 6 tenths ahead of everyone on. the same tyre. I think the whole engine debacle is causing them to sandbag.

The order that is shaping up is

Mercedes
Ferrari
Redbull
McLaren
Alpine
Haas or Racing Bulls
Williams
Aston Martin
Audi
Cadillac

But this may change by the end of Day 3. It may not be the order when we arrive at Melbourne also.

Mind you, the qualifying time from last season was 1:29.841. Russell's time this morning is 1:33.918, which is four seconds behind. There is still a lot of ground to catch up. If Russell's time turns out to be the fastest lap possible with these new 2026 cars, then the speed has been severely reduced to near F2 level, which is very bad for F1. It would mean the FIA has got the 2026 regulation very wrong. They have tweaked away the speed of F1.

I think with the information we know right now, that is about right on the money. I am really surprised Aston Martin hasn't made the jump.

[Nitrodaze]

I think with the information we know right now, that is about right on the money. I am really surprised Aston Martin hasn't made the jump.

The media folks think it might be like this:-

Mercedes
Ferrari
Redbull
McLaren
Racing Bulls
Alpine
Haas
Williams
Audi
Cadillac
Aston Martin [4 Seconds adrift]

[airshifter]

I don't read too much into testing times, but look more at the mini sectors if available. That and the program the teams are running often shows a lot more if you ask me. And to top it off, the team with the fastest times in testing only goes on to win the WDC something like one in 3 times or less. Considering that often we only have 2 or 3 teams with even a shot at the WDC barring crazy circumstances, it just proves that all teams are sandbagging to some extent.

And really if any particular team is really sandbagging it often takes several races to determine that, usually when they are on the back foot and finally show their true pace.

[Nitrodaze]

Did anyone notice the Ferrari rotating wing? :-()

[airshifter]

Did anyone notice the Ferrari rotating wing? :-()

Yeah, crafty stuff. I'm not sure if it will prove to be any advantage, and some claim they had some reliability problems with it. It seems to me that it might be great for the straight, but be slower to create downforce again when it closes. But it's still pretty quick, so maybe it won't leave the rear end too light for harvesting, since some lift and coast will take place on many long straights.

I'm curious to see if they use that method at all, or only part of the time, in the first races.



For those that haven't seen it....

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/reaction-to-ferraris-new-rotating-rear-wing.1857557923409239501




That and the aero flip up behind the exhaust show that Ferrari are working hard to get things right. It is claimed that the aero flip up won't be easy for others to copy, as the position relates to the differential which Ferrari worked hard to move as far back as possible. Others might be able to do it, but it won't be an easy, quick, or cheap copy to make.

[Nitrodaze]

Yeah, crafty stuff. I'm not sure if it will prove to be any advantage, and some claim they had some reliability problems with it. It seems to me that it might be great for the straight, but be slower to create downforce again when it closes. But it's still pretty quick, so maybe it won't leave the rear end too light for harvesting, since some lift and coast will take place on many long straights.

I'm curious to see if they use that method at all, or only part of the time, in the first races.



For those that haven't seen it....

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/reaction-to-ferraris-new-rotating-rear-wing.1857557923409239501




That and the aero flip up behind the exhaust show that Ferrari are working hard to get things right. It is claimed that the aero flip up won't be easy for others to copy, as the position relates to the differential which Ferrari worked hard to move as far back as possible. Others might be able to do it, but it won't be an easy, quick, or cheap copy to make.
I think most people look at the rotating wing in isolation and see drag and loss of downforce. What they fail to see is the combined effect of the little wing in front of the exhaust and the rotating wing. The hot gases from the exhaust is lifted upwards into the path of the airflow under the rotating wing, energising the flow under the wing, creating a massive pressure difference between the flow above the wing while open and the flow under the wing. This pressure difference may cause the wing to act like and upside down aerofoil, causing downforce rather than lift, which most people think is happening.

The gaping aperture that it creates when open allows a large volume of airflow to rush through under the wing and is accelerated by the hot gases from the exhaust. The velocity difference between the airflow under the wing and the airflow over the wing generates a massive pressure difference, with the effect that the under part of the wing has a suction pulling the rear wing downwards, causing both drag and increased downforce as the car slows into a corner, in theory.

This Ferrari idea would be very hard to copy. I think teams would be up in arms about this gizmo after three races, when they have seen the clear advantage gained from this device.

It is a majestic innovation. I think Ferrari has been hiding their true pace like Mercedes has been doing. There might not be anything in it between Mercedes and Ferrari over a whole lap. Assuming Ferrari has also made the necessary changes to their race operations, they are looking very much like the real deal at the mo.

[Nitrodaze]

The Ferrari race start is blindingly quick. The Melbourne race is going to be very interesting. I can see the Ferrari being the first car round the first corner at most races in the first half of the season at least.

[Whyzars]

Nightly news in Australia has just said that 2000 F1 staff and lots of equipment is unable to leave Bahrain due to the closed airports and this may impact the Australian Grand Prix.

I haven't found anything else saying this but I can see how flights from Europe and the Middle East may be impacted. F1 containers and lots of fans might be scrambling for alternate routes.

[F1nKS]

There was supposed to be a wet-weather tire test in Bahrain this weekend. Mercedes, Mclaren and Pirelli have approximately 100 staff members stuck there.

Flights to Australia are being rerouted next week through Hong Kong and Singapore airports.

The Australian Grand Prix Corp believes that there is no risk of the race being cancelled. He indicated that all the drivers are in Australia, and F1 teams are prioritising those who are absolutely needed in Australia and getting them their flights. All their equipment has been staged in Australia.

The Bahrain (April 10-12) and Jeddah (April 17-19) races could be at risk of cancellation, but that is still a way off.


Luckily, the first 3 races are in Australia, China, and Japan, which gives the F1 some time to figure out how they may need to adjust their schedule.

[Used to be Starter]

There was supposed to be a wet-weather tire test in Bahrain this weekend. Mercedes, Mclaren and Pirelli have approximately 100 staff members stuck there.

Flights to Australia are being rerouted next week through Hong Kong and Singapore airports.

The Australian Grand Prix Corp believes that there is no risk of the race being cancelled. He indicated that all the drivers are in Australia, and F1 teams are prioritising those who are absolutely needed in Australia and getting them their flights. All their equipment has been staged in Australia.

The Bahrain (April 10-12) and Jeddah (April 17-19) races could be at risk of cancellation, but that is still a way off.


Luckily, the first 3 races are in Australia, China, and Japan, which gives the F1 some time to figure out how they may need to adjust their schedule.

There is a better chance that things will go south thanks to our retard of a President. He dances to the strings that other people pull. This either gets resolved in the next week or it's going to go on for quite a while.

[F1nKS]

There is a better chance that things will go south thanks to our retard of a President. He dances to the strings that other people pull. This either gets resolved in the next week or it's going to go on for quite a while.

You shouldn't speak about Biden like that - he is old and has dementia.