Formula 1 held its first official pre-season test for the 2026 campaign in Bahrain this week, offering a glimpse into the wholesale regulation changes which’ll debut this year.
All 11 teams were present and there were several talking points from the action, such as debates over who the benchmark is to Max Verstappen expressing his anger over the new rules.
So here are the key stats from the test.
Antonelli fastest but completes fewest amount of laps
Mercedes dominated the top of the timesheets, setting the only times under 1m34s in Bahrain with Italian teen Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking the fastest lap across the three days.
The 19-year-old, now in his sophomore year, claimed a 1m33.669s on Friday which was 0.249s quicker than team-mate George Russell, who was second fastest during that final day.
But lap times should be taken with a pinch of salt in testing, as mileage is what’s most important. That is an area Antonelli actually fell short on, as he completed the fewest laps overall due to various technical problems for the W17.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Alexander Albon, Williams, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
On the other end of the scale, seven drivers reached, or even exceeded, 200 laps: Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Oliver Bearman.
| P | DRIVER | TEAM | Laps | Time (day) | Tires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonelli | Mercedes | 94 | 1’33″669 (J3) | C3 |
| 2 | Russell | Mercedes | 188 | 1’33″918 (J3) | C3 |
| 3 | Hamilton | Ferrari | 202 | 1’34″209 (D3) | C3 |
| 4 | Leclerc | Ferrari | 219 | 1’34″273 (D2) | C3 |
| 5 | Piastri | McLaren | 215 | 1’34″549 (D3) | C3 |
| 6 | Norris | McLaren | 207 | 1’34″669 (D1) | C2 |
| 7 | Verstappen | Red Bull | 197 | 1’34″798 (D1) | C3 |
| 8 | Bearman | Haas | 200 | 1’35″394 (D2) | C3 |
| 9 | Hadjar | Red Bull | 146 | 1’35″561 (D2) | C3 |
| 10 | Ocon | Haas | 190 | 1’35″578 (D1) | C3 |
| 11 | Colapinto | Alpine | 172 | 1’35″806 (D3) | C3 |
| 12 | Hülkenberg | Audi | 178 | 1’36″291 (J3) | C3 |
| 13 | Bortoleto | Audi | 176 | 1’36″670 (Day 2) | C3 |
| 14 | Gasly | Alpine | 146 | 1’36″723 (D2) | C3 |
| 15 | Albon | Williams | 208 | 1’36″793 (D3) | C3 |
| 16 | Lawson | Racing Bulls | 169 | 1’36″808 (D3) | C3 |
| 17 | Bottas | Cadillac | 153 | 1’36″824 (D2) | C3 |
| 18 | Sainz | Williams | 214 | 1’37″186 (J3) | C2 |
| 19 | Pérez | Cadillac | 167 | 1’37″365 (J3) | C3 |
| 20 | Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 158 | 1’37″470 (D2) | C3 |
| 21 | Stroll | Aston Martin | 108 | 1’38″165 (D3) | C3 |
| 22 | Alonso | Aston Martin | 98 | 1’38″248 (D2) | C3 |
McLaren and Williams with most mileage
Four teams exceeded 2,000 km with McLaren and Williams topping that table on 2,284km. This is particularly good news for the James Vowles-led outfit, as it was absent from the Barcelona shakedown.
Mercedes, meanwhile, which significantly impressed in Catalonia, actually completed the second fewest amount of laps in Bahrain as it endured various technical difficulties. The most notable was the morning of day two when Antonelli completed just three laps thanks to a power unit problem.
But behind Mercedes was Aston Martin, whose delays and various technical issues limited it to just over 1,000km.
| Team | Engine | Laps s (Bahrain 1) |
KM (Bahrain 1) |
Total KM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Mercedes | 422 | 2284 | 3639 |
| Williams | Mercedes | 422 | 2284 | 2284 |
| Ferrari | Ferrari | 421 | 2279 | 4328 |
| Haas | Ferrari | 390 | 2111 | 3932 |
| Audi | Audi | 354 | 1916 | 3010 |
| Red Bull | Red Bull Ford | 343 | 1856 | 3267 |
| Racing Bulls | Red Bull Ford | 327 | 1770 | 3255 |
| Cadillac | Ferrari | 320 | 1732 | 2496 |
| Alpine | Mercedes | 318 | 1721 | 3346 |
| Mercedes | Mercedes | 282 | 1526 | 3864 |
| Aston | Honda | 206 | 1115 | 1422 |
Honda lagging behind other power unit manufacturers
On the engine side, unsurprisingly, Mercedes racked up the most mileage with over 13,000km thanks to that power unit being the most popular on the grid with four teams.
But in terms of average kilometres per squad, Ferrari performed better with each team powered by the Italian marque averaging over 2,000km in Bahrain.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Audi, which has only its factory squad, is just below the Mercedes average but above Red Bull, which is rather impressive given the German marque is making its F1 debut this year.
Honda, however, which powers Aston Martin, is struggling having completed the least mileage of the five power unit manufacturers in F1.
| Engine manufacturer | Laps |
KM (Bahrain 1) |
Average KM per team (Bahrain 1) | Total KM (Bahrain 1 + Barcelona) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | 1,444 | 7815 | 1954 | 13,133 |
| Ferrari | 1131 | 6121 | 2040 | 10,736 |
| Red Bull Ford | 670 | 3,626 | 1,813 | 6,523 |
| Audi | 354 | 1916 | 1916 | 3010 |
| Honda | 206 | 1115 | 1115 | 1422 |
Red flags at the Bahrain tests 1
| Car | Driver | Day | Time | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine | Colapinto | Wednesday | 9:37am | Unknown |
| Audi | Hülkenberg | Wednesday | 2:32pm | Unknown |
| Cadillac | Pérez | Thursday | 8:10am | Unknown |
|
– |
– | Thursday | 11:52am | FIA test |
| – | – | Thursday | 2:35 pm | Debris |
| Alpine | Gasly | Thursday | 2:53 pm | Unknown |
| – | – | Thursday | 4:53 pm | FIA test |
| – | – | Thursday | 5:00 pm | FIA Test |
| Cadillac | Bottas | Friday | 8:50am | Cooling |
| Ferrari | Hamilton | Friday | 4:49 pm | Running out of gas |
| – | – | Friday | 4:55 pm | FIA test |
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
