Sergio 'Checo' Pérez and Formula 1 teams begin pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, featuring six days of action to test the new monoplazas under the 2026 technical regulations. Cadillac, Pérez's new team, recently unveiled its CA01 car during Super Bowl LX. The season starts in March in Australia.
Formula 1 enters the 2026 era with official pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, the first public laboratory for the new cars under the most disruptive technical regulations in years. These tests, divided into two blocks totaling six days in the Sakhir desert, provide eight hours daily on track, with pauses for adjustments and driver changes. Each team uses a single car, allocating about one and a half days of driving per driver per block.
Coverage builds progressively: the first block airs the last hour of each day live, while the second offers full live transmission with pre- and post-analysis. Platforms like F1 TV Pro and Sky Sports broadcast live, and F1 shares technical content on official channels.
Teams validate aerodynamic concepts, software, and energy tools like Boost, Overtake, and Recharge. After a shakedown in Barcelona, where Checo Pérez noted 'many problems' but preferred fixing them early, they now assess reliability and simulate full race weekends. Lap times vary with fuel loads, distorting comparisons.
Drivers highlight the shift: Lando Norris calls it 'fun to drive' with 'more power and less grip', foreseeing 'more movements, more defense, and more chaos'. Oscar Piastri notes 'a lot of power and less grip, with narrower tires', but 'the fastest cars in the world'. Lewis Hamilton praises the SF-26 as 'more oversteery, more nervous, but easier to control and more enjoyable'. Charles Leclerc deems it 'exciting', emphasizing energy management. George Russell dubs it 'probably the fastest F1 I've seen go through Barcelona', noting lighter and more agile cars.
Cadillac, the eleventh team with Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, unveiled the CA01 at Super Bowl LX with white-black and black-white designs, under the motto 'The mission begins'. A replica displays in Times Square until February 9. Bahrain's 5.412 km circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke in 2004, mixes straights and technical corners, perfect for testing amid wind and temperature shifts.
After the tests, teams gear up for the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix from March 6 to 8.
