Pre-Season Testing [Bahrain]

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

Testing kicked off with a few early clues about the season. Lando ended up fastest, 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 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.

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Originally Posted by Matthew

Testing kicked off with a few early clues about the season. Lando ended up fastest, 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 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.

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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.