F1’s crucial 2026 pre-season schedule is set to resume on Wednesday, with some key questions expected to be answered in Bahrain.
Two official test events will now be held at the Bahrain International Circuit, after both teams were able to drive the new cars together for the first time at a shakedown in Barcelona in late January.
At Barcelona, media access at the event was significantly restricted given that teams may struggle amidst the challenges of introducing both a new chassis and power unit following significant regulation changes.
That will not be the case in Bahrain, where media will be able to attend and live time will be available throughout, with the last hour of each match over the three days being broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.
The second test from February 18th to 20th will be even more intensified, with eight hours of circuit driving each day, all broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.
Before you take action, we’ve picked out some important questions that may get answered in the coming days.
Has Mercedes really “raised the bar”?
While everyone in the paddock insists there is little to be read into what happened on the Barcelona track, there is also a growing consensus that the majority consider Mercedes the benchmark at this stage.
A total of 504 laps were logged over the three days of allowed running, putting him at the top of the mileage charts, but there were also signs of very decent pace from George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
But perhaps more important than any of this, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said in an interview after Barcelona that he believed Mercedes had “definitely raised the bar”.
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George Russell and Kimi Antonelli review Mercedes’ impressive performance at the Barcelona Shakedown.
Given that most teams should have been able to eliminate the early negative impact in Barcelona, more emphasis on performance in Bahrain is likely to provide more clues as to the standings, and the expected warm weather should be more indicative of racing conditions during the season.
So we may find out if Stella’s comments are completely genuine, or if they actually represent pre-season gamesmanship from McLaren towards its power unit supplier.
If predictions are correct that Mercedes makes the best power unit of the five suppliers, then the fact that McLaren has access to that power unit would theoretically make them the most likely front-line challenger to the Silver Arrows.
Is the power unit battle intensifying?
However, the strength of Mercedes’ engine may be affected by the ongoing controversy over the compression ratio of the new power unit.
Ferrari, Honda and Audi are understood to be concerned that Mercedes and Red Bull, which were the first to manufacture their own power units, have established a performance advantage through so-called “loopholes” in the regulations.
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Sky Sports’ Craig Slater explains whether Mercedes’ engine will be deemed illegal ahead of the 2026 season.
The discussion focuses on compression ratio limits amid suggestions from rivals that both manufacturers may have found a way to achieve higher limits than those theoretically imposed by new regulations in 2026.
The most notable comments so far on the situation came on Monday from FIA single-seater division director Nicolas Tombazis, who insisted the sport’s governing body was keen to resolve the issue before the season begins with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.
“We don’t want to create controversy,” Tombazis said. “We want people to compete on the track, not in the courtroom or the judges’ room, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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Toto Wolff has slammed rival F1 teams by criticizing the legality of Mercedes’ new engine.
Mercedes manager Toto Wolff may have a tough job on his hands, given that he told those unhappy with his team’s engines to “get together” and accused them of “making excuses before they even start”.
Adrian Newey, whose Aston Martin team’s engines will be supplied by Honda, told Sky Sports News on Monday: “Everyone is united except for one manufacturer, so I think we’ll see in Melbourne where we end up.”
This issue is sure to continue to be a hot topic as team principals and drivers speak to the media throughout this week.
Aston Martin’s new perspective as Williams debuts in 2026
The performance of the Honda engine will be a big factor in Aston Martin’s ability to be a race winner this season, but it is undoubtedly the team’s first Newey-designed chassis that will be in the spotlight once again this week.
Only a fleeting glimpse of the AMR26 was revealed in Barcelona, as Aston Martin finally got it ready to take to the track late Thursday. After that, we did a full day of driving on Friday, although there was no risk of pushing the power unit to its maximum capacity.
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Adrian Newey has admitted Aston Martin’s wind tunnel testing delays could cost the team in the early stages of the 2026 season.
It was difficult to fully analyze what Newey himself described as an “extreme” interpretation of the regulations, given that the team controlled the images and footage of the cars that were released to the public.
Media will be in attendance in Bahrain, including Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater, so there will be a more detailed analysis of the car from trackside.
And then there’s the car we haven’t seen at all, with Williams set to make its first pre-season appearance after missing out on Barcelona due to a failed crash test.
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Williams has unveiled a vibrant new gloss blue livery that the team’s FW48 car will use this year.
Williams at least has the benefit of running a Mercedes engine that has been well tested by Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine in Barcelona, so they will be fairly confident of avoiding major trouble in that area.
It remains to be seen how costly missing out on Barcelona will be, but the scrutiny on striker 48 will likely increase as a result of the team’s missteps.
Expectations for Hamilton and Ferrari?
Ferrari was second behind Mercedes in Barcelona’s mileage rankings, but there didn’t seem to be much excitement around or even within the Italian team.
Lewis Hamilton said the team was performing better than last year, but that didn’t mean much considering they lost crucial track time due to technical issues ahead of their debut campaign in red, with a severely restricted testing schedule.
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Jenson Button admits it was “tough” to watch former teammate Lewis Hamilton struggle in his first season at Ferrari, but is rooting for the seven-time world champion’s progress this year.
Ferrari appeared to have strong credibility and decent pace, with Hamilton setting the fastest time of the week on the final day, but few expected them to mount a title challenge.
This could be due to concerns that they are lagging behind on the engine front amidst the compression ratio debate, or a lack of confidence in the design department after a very disappointing 2025 season.
By contrast, most expected Ferrari to be right there ahead of the 2025 test, with McLaren leading the way, but by the weekend it was clear that Ferrari was behind.
Hamilton will be hoping for a complete reversal of what happened 12 months ago as he continues his quest for a record eighth drivers’ title.
Sky Sports F1 Bahrain test schedule
Test 1: Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th February
3:00 PM: Final Hours of Track Driving Live 8:00 PM: Test Lap 8:30 PM: Ted’s Test Notebook
Test 2: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
6:50am to 11:05am: Morning session live 11:55am to 4:10pm: Afternoon session live 8pm: Test lap
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, including the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
