With the final round of testing now complete, Formula 1’s pre-season is officially over. The next time the cars hit the track will be for Free Practice 1 at the season opener in Melbourne. With that in mind, here’s one last look at pre-season testing, where all eleven teams looked to sand off any final rough edges before the season gets underway.
Having enjoyed a relatively straightforward first test in Bahrain, the reigning constructors' champions ran largely trouble-free second time out. Oscar Piastri had a wayward moment at turn 12 on day two, while Lando Norris was one of many drivers to lock up at Bahrain’s infamous turn ten, but they were minor blemishes on an otherwise commendable test. Piastri stated that the team had learned a great deal about their 2026 package, while CEO Zak Brown claimed that McLaren was likely to be one of the top four teams. With 395 laps under their belt (the fourth most of any team) and a highly coveted Mercedes power unit on side, McLaren looks set to remain a frontrunner in 2026.
On paper, Mercedes’ final pre-season test made for poor reading as the Silver Arrows’ best time was 1.2 seconds off the pace. However, the team did not complete a full race simulation during the second test, nor did they turn up their engines on the final day. As a result, the team’s raw pace is still far from clear; that said, Kimi Antonelli did set the fastest time on day two. Mileage was a priority throughout the final test, and Mercedes duly racked up 432 laps of running, the most of any team. Team principal Toto Wolff was reluctant to make any claims about Mercedes’ place in the overall pecking order, though George Russell did point out one noticeable weakness: starts. The five-time race winner went so far as to describe two of his practice launches as “worse than my worst starts ever in Formula 1”. Mercedes will be keen to rectify this issue before the season opener and capitalise on what they admit is a package with tremendous potential.
Described by Mercedes as potential frontrunners, Red Bull were in no hurry to reveal their true form. In fact, team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies reinforced the “size of the mountain that is still in front of us”. New signing Isack Hadjar lost valuable running on day one due to an engine issue but recovered to set the sixth fastest time. Max Verstappen ran over the Kerbs at turn 11 on day two before locking up at turn four. Even so, the four-time world champion described the test as a “positive start to the year” given the challenges facing Red Bull, who will be running their own power units for the first time. Red Bull ended the test with 329 laps, with Verstappen clocking the fifth fastest time. Preliminary indicators point to Red Bull being part of F1’s leading quartet, though their true pace remains to be seen.
After a largely productive first run in Bahrain, Ferrari were turning heads (and wings) during the final pre-season test. The Scuderia introduced a dramatic new rear wing that rotated 180 degrees thanks to a central pivot. The 2026 regulations do not state that the rear wing has to be mounted the right way up when the active aerodynamics are employed; as a result, Ferrari is expected to retain this new innovation. One that is expected to reduce straight-line drag.
Lewis Hamilton was forced to return to the pits after five laps on day two with a chassis problem, but that did little to hinder his and the team’s progress. Charles Leclerc managed the fastest lap of the entire test with a time of 1m31.992s, with Ferrari managing a total of 324 laps.
One area in which the Scuderia seem to have found an edge is race starts as Hamilton passed five cars on the run into turn one during a practice start on day two. Team principal Fred Vasseur played down their chances by stating that every team is bringing new upgrades, but by all accounts Ferrari have built on their strong starts in the previous test.
After missing out on the first shakedown in Barcelona, Williams have been making up for lost time ever since. Much like the first Bahrain test, mileage was once again a priority, the Grove-based squad clocking 110 laps or more on each of the three days for a final tally of 368 (the fifth most of any team). The FW48 seems void of any major reliability issues. However, Carlos Sainz admitted there are “quite a few” areas of improvement if they are to close the gap to the established frontrunners.
The results of pre-season testing have many pointing to a ‘two-class’ F1 grid. One that will see a clear gap between the top four teams and the rest. Having acquired significant mileage and data, Williams will be keen to retain their 2025 position as best of the rest. However, the nine-time constructors’ champions are likely to face a recovery job for at least the opening races of 2026.
With a brand-new power unit to develop alongside 2026’s only rookie, Racing Bulls were once again prioritising mileage. The Red Bull sister team completed the second most laps of any team (407), while Arvid Lindblad recorded the highest lap count of any driver (240). The 18-year-old remained positive, stating that every planned programme had been completed, while Liam Lawson stated that the team were “okay” performance-wise, but admitted to not knowing the pecking order ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne.
Having endured a torrid first Bahrain test, Aston Martin’s woes are showing no signs of easing up. The team completed the fewest laps of any team at just 128, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll’s best times were the slowest of the entire session. A battery issue meant the team could only attempt short runs, while a lack of spare parts brought an end to Aston Martin’s running two and a half hours ahead of schedule. Such were the Silverstone-based squad’s issues that they were only able to complete six laps on the final day of testing, all of which came courtesy of Alonso, with Stroll failing to set a competitive time.
With their driveability issues having been apparent since the first test, Aston Martin’s extensive reliability issues are now clear for all to see. Not only does the team have relatively little data to work with, but their status as the sole Honda customer team means there is no other point of reference with regard to their power unit issues.
Having struggled throughout both Bahrain tests, there’s little denying the claim that Aston Martin look set to start this season as one of the weakest teams on the grid.
Haas, by contrast, continued their steady progress. After a fruitful first test, the American squad were now able to search for performance gains. Ollie Bearman traded fastest times with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly throughout the final day of testing and ended up with a best lap just 0.066s shy of the Frenchman’s. The team completed 404 laps (behind only Mercedes and Racing Bulls) with Bearman describing the final two days of testing as “by far the most productive” where “we’ve learned the most about the car”. Teammate Esteban Ocon echoed these sentiments by stating that fresh performance gains have been found every time the car has hit the track since Barcelona.
They may be unwilling to make any claims about where they stand relative to the rest of the grid, but Haas’s pre-season form has been among the smoothest of the entire grid.
Audi were another team focused on mileage as the team formerly known as Sauber looks to develop their own new power unit. With 357 laps under their belt, the team secured mileage that team principal Jonathan Wheatley described as “hugely encouraging”. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg secured the 10th and 12th fastest times of the test, respectively. However, all parties have kept their feet on the ground with Wheatley admitting that the team is not where it would like to be performance-wise, while Hulkenberg lauded the progress made by Audi, before admitting to it being “early days”.
Given this rhetoric and the team’s form, Audi are likely to target incremental gains during the early part of the season.
After a difficult first test during which both their drivers stopped on track, Alpine enjoyed a more productive second run in Bahrain. The Enstone-based outfit completed 359 laps (the sixth most of any team) with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto’s best efforts good enough for eighth and 11th, respectively. The former even traded fastest times with the Haas of Ollie Bearman on the final day. Managing Director Steve Nielsen stated that he was confident the team has made progress relative to last year, while Gasly stated that he was now enjoying the challenge of adapting to the new Mercedes power unit. Much of the pre-season speculation has pointed to Mercedes having the power unit of choice. Should that turn out to be the case, Alpine could be in a position to make significant gains.
Formula 1’s newest team rounded off pre-season testing with another solid run. With 266 laps on the board (not bad for a team that has only completed ten days of running across its entire history) and its drivers having lapped the Bahrain International Circuit faster than the two Aston Martins, Cadillac have affirmed their status as a legitimate Formula 1 operation.
Team Principal Graeme Lowdon claims to have received messages from many of Cadillac’s rivals lauding the team’s progress. But despite their solid start, the team is aware of the steps that are yet to be taken. Sergio Perez stated that the team will be playing catch-up for much of this season and that current priorities include “finding the weaknesses” and ensuring the relevant departments are in place.
They look set to start this season at the back, but with plenty of mileage under their belt, relatively few reliability issues to speak of and two highly experienced drivers at the helm, Cadillac are well placed to make good progress over the course of the season.
McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari look set to continue as Formula 1’s ‘big four’ but with the exact pecking order unclear, this year’s opening salvo is not one you are going to want to miss.
