Charles Leclerc has assessed Ferrari's standing after the first 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain, placing Red Bull and Mercedes slightly ahead of his team and McLaren. The new chassis and power unit regulations have made the competitive order difficult to gauge amid varied testing conditions. Mercedes recorded the fastest overall time across the three days.
The opening pre-season test for the 2026 Formula 1 season concluded at the Bahrain International Circuit after three days of running, with teams focusing on adapting to new chassis and engine rules. These changes, particularly the more powerful hybrid power units, introduce complexities in energy management, such as lift-and-coast tactics and earlier downshifting, which obscure true performance levels. As Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso noted, “There are laps that we are eight tenths up and down by changing one setting.”
Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, described the situation as “so difficult to understand,” adding that the electrical engine's power allows teams to “hide the real potential of the car in many, many different ways.” Despite this, he expressed satisfaction with Ferrari's progress: “We didn't have any reliability issues so far, and this is a good start. Everything stacks up with what we expected.” Leclerc set a benchmark time of 1m34.273s on Day 2, while on Day 3, Lewis Hamilton completed 150 laps in the SF-26, testing various Pirelli compounds. Hamilton said, “The SF-26 has felt generally good, but this generation of car is quite complex and finding the right operating window, especially with the tyres, is key. We’ve made some good discoveries and also identified areas where we can improve.” Ferrari plans a significant upgrade for the next test.
Mercedes showed resilience on Day 3, with Kimi Antonelli posting the fastest lap of the Bahrain week at 1m33.669s after overcoming earlier reliability issues. George Russell completed a race simulation in the morning, though trackside chief Andrew Shovlin admitted the team spent “far longer in the garage than we would have liked” due to Bahrain's warmer conditions. Russell highlighted Red Bull's advantage, calling it “pretty scary” with a potential half-second to one-second edge in energy deployment per lap, supported by strong straight-line data from sister team Racing Bulls.
Red Bull's inaugural power unit, developed with Ford, impressed rivals, enabling 120 laps on Day 3. Technical Director Pierre Wache called it a “positive week” but noted, “there were a few teams which were clearly very quick today and it looks like we are behind, so there is still a lot to improve.” Max Verstappen's quickest time was 1m34.798s on Day 1. McLaren's Oscar Piastri timed 1m34.549s, while Aston Martin faced challenges, completing only 202 laps total and admitting they are “behind schedule” with “a lot of performance still to unlock.”
Overall, Mercedes topped the timesheets, but the pecking order remains fluid ahead of the second test in Bahrain and the season opener in Australia on March 6-8.
