Mercedes driver George Russell has expressed worries about his team's poor race starts during pre-season testing in Bahrain, despite overall strong pace. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton impressed with rapid launches, while Charles Leclerc set the fastest time overall. The testing highlighted challenges with the new 2026 regulations ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
Pre-season testing for the 2026 Formula 1 season concluded in Bahrain on February 20, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc posting the quickest overall time of 1:31.992 on C4 tyres during the final day. This marked the only lap below 1:32s across the six-day event, leading the timesheet ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris (1:32.871s) and Red Bull's Max Verstappen (1:33.109s). Mercedes' George Russell finished fourth-fastest on the final day with 1:33.197s, but the team faced issues, including a pneumatic pressure problem for Kimi Antonelli that required a power unit change.
A major focus of the testing was the new cars' challenging race starts, introduced by the 2026 regulations featuring new power units and chassis without the MGU-H, leading to increased turbo lag. The FIA trialled a new blue lights procedure to give drivers more preparation time, with practice starts held at the end of Thursday and Friday sessions. Ferrari appeared strongest here, as Lewis Hamilton made two rapid getaways, surging from P11 to P1 in one session and overtaking multiple cars, including Russell, in another. Russell, who spun his tyres and went sideways in a practice start, admitted Mercedes is struggling.
"I think we've got a lot of potential beneath us," Russell said. "But to win a race, you've also got to get off the line quite well. And I think the two starts I've made this week were worse than my worst ever start in Formula 1." He added that Hamilton's performance showed starts could be the "tallest hurdle," with Mercedes "stumbling" on the issue. McLaren's Oscar Piastri, using a Mercedes engine, was less concerned, noting starts felt "very random" but expected teams to converge quickly. "I thought mine yesterday wasn't too bad," Piastri said. "I was last, but I think I passed about four cars as well."
Haas driver Oliver Bearman, with a Ferrari power unit, reported positive starts, saying, "Better than my best ever start... It's a bit more complicated than last year, that's for sure." Russell also remained wary of Red Bull's energy deployment advantage, despite Mercedes closing the gap during testing. The season opens with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.
