F1
The full F1 pre-season testing schedule in Bahrain
© DPPI
Held behind closed doors from January 29 to 31 at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, the Shakedown of the F1 This allowed ten of the eleven teams to complete their first laps of the season. While not very revealing in terms of pure pace, these three days of testing allowed for verification of the reliability of the engines and the cars.
Si Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time of the week at 1:16.348, a time that was still almost 5 seconds slower than last year's pole position. Faster than George Russell – his former teammate at Mercedes Benz – the seven-time world champion saw his younger rival set his own benchmark of 1:16.445 the previous day, while Lando Norris completed the top 3 in 1:16:594. Charles Leclerc He was, for his part, close behind the three drivers with a time of 1:16.653.
As for reliability, Mercedes won in Barcelona, with a 500-lap lead. Classic Ferrari for sale (437 rpm) and Haas (390 turns). McLarenThe German engine manufacturer's customer team, for its part, seems to have had more difficulty adapting the power unit to its chassis, having suffered a problem with the fuel supply system.
Let us also recall the late arrival ofAston MartinThe Silverstone team only took to the track on the fourth day of testing, completing a total of 66 laps. However, this needs some qualification: in 2014, when the V6 turbo hybrid engine was introduced, all the teams only completed 93 laps on the first day.
Finally Williams was notably absent in Barcelona, due to a development delay, even though the team has shown consistent progress since the arrival of team principal James Vowles. It's also worth remembering that in 2019, the Grove-based team didn't participate in a full test session, subsequently finishing last year's constructors' championship with only one point. This memory contributes to the negative signal sent by the British team, which will therefore be under intense scrutiny from the first week in Bahrain and must absolutely capitalize on these six days of testing.
Another element to watch is the legality of the power unit developed by Mercedes, which has been challenged by rival engine manufacturers. This is a worrying development, just one month before the start of the F1 season, for the Silver Arrows and its three customer teams.
The broadcast of the first week of testing will be limited to the last hour of the day, while the second week is expected to be broadcast live from 8:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. (Paris time).
📊 The Bahrain International Circuit in figures
- First Grand Prix: 2004
- Length: 5,412 km
- Turns: 15
- Lap record: 1:31.447 (Pedro de la Rosa – McLaren – 2005)
F1 – Bahrain 2026 Pre-Season Tests 1
Wednesday February 11
Session 1 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM
Diffusion 16:00 PM (Canal+ Sport)
Thursday February 12
Session 2 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM
Diffusion 16:00 PM (Canal+ Sport)
Friday February 13
Session 38:00 AM – 17:00 PM
Diffusion 16:00 PM (Canal+ Sport)
F1 – Bahrain 2026 Pre-Season Tests 2
Wednesday February 18
Session 1 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM
Thursday February 19
Session 2 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM
Friday February 20
Session 38:00 AM – 17:00 PM
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Alain Féguenne (🇱🇺 Luxembourg)
08/02/2026 at 06:26 a.m.
Tomorrow's a big day, the unveiling of the new Aston Martin! I'm curious to see the livery…!!!! For the Bahrain 🇧🇭 tests, we'll see how the engines perform, and also hear Toto's reaction to the engine's legality ‼️. Stay tuned… 😎Bahrain🇧🇭👍. P.S.: Thanks… Yves-Henri, he'll understand.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
08/02/2026 at 11:11 a.m.
It will be interesting to see if the Mercedes engines will be able to maintain their lead in terms of lap times! JP Montoya claims they have plenty of power...