F1 testing: Consensus that Mercedes are early pace-setters to be tested as pre-season resumes in Bahrain
Formula 1 pre-season testing is about to ramp up with two three-day events in Bahrain; watch the 3-4pm hour on each day of the first Bahrain test live from Wednesday on Sky Sports F1 before full coverage of the February 18-20 second test
Tuesday 10 February 2026 15:34, UK
Formula 1's crucial 2026 pre-season schedule is set to resume on Wednesday, with several key questions set to be answered in Bahrain.
After a shakedown in Barcelona in late January that allowed the teams to run their all-new cars together for the first time, the Bahrain International Circuit will now host two official testing events.
Given the possibility of teams struggling in Barcelona amid the challenge of introducing both new chassis and power units after a major regulation change, there was hugely limited access for the media at the event.
- When to watch Bahrain pre-season testing on Sky Sports
- F1 2026: Testing, calendar, line-ups, new regulations, how to watch on Sky Sports
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOWđź“ş
That will not be the case in Bahrain, where media can attend, live timings will be available throughout, and the final hour of each of the three days of action will be shown live on Sky Sports F1.
That will be further ramped up for the second test from February 18-20, when all eight hours of track action each day will be live on Sky Sports F1.
Before the action gets under way, we've picked out some of the key questions that could be answers over the coming days.
Have Mercedes really 'raised the bar'?
While on one hand everyone in the paddock insisted that very little could be read into what happened on track in Barcelona, there was also a consensus emerging that most consider Mercedes the benchmark at this stage.
Their total of 504 laps across their permitted three days of running topped the mileage chart, while there were also some signs of very decent pace from George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
But perhaps even more significant than any of that was McLaren team principal Andrea Stella going on the record in a post-Barcelona interview to say he believed that Mercedes had "definitely raised the bar".
Given most teams should have been able to get any early gremlins out of the way in Barcelona, a greater focus on performance in Bahrain is likely to provide more clues regarding the pecking order, while the forecasted warmer weather should be more representative of race conditions throughout the season.
We therefore may learn whether Stella's comments are completely genuine or actually represent some pre-season gamesmanship from McLaren towards their power unit supplier.
Should predictions that Mercedes have built the best power unit of the five suppliers be accurate, the fact that McLaren have access to it would theoretically make them the Silver Arrows' most likely challenger at the front.
Power unit dispute to rage on?
However, the strength of the Mercedes engine could be impacted by an ongoing dispute over the compression ratios of the new power units.
It is understood that Ferrari, Honda and Audi fear that Mercedes and Red Bull, who have produced their own power unit for the first time, may have established a performance advantage through a so-called 'loophole' in the regulations.
The row centres on compression ratio limits amid suggestions from rivals that the two manufacturers may have found a way to deliver a higher limit than what was theoretically imposed by the brand new regulations for 2026.
The most notable comment on the situation to date came from FIA single seater director Nikolas Tombazis on Monday, as he insisted the sport's governing body were keen to solve the issue before the season begins with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.
"We don't want to have controversies," Tombazis said. "We want people to be competing on the track, not in the courtroom or in the stewards' room, and that's what we try to do."
He might have a tough job on his hands given Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has told those complaining about his team's engine to "get your s*** together" and accused them of making "excuses before you even started."
Adrian Newey, whose Aston Martin team will have their engines supplied by Honda, told Sky Sports News on Monday that "everybody is aligned bar one manufacturer, so where that will end up, well I guess find out in Melbourne."
With the team principals and drivers speaking to the media throughout the week, the issue is sure to remain a hot topic.
Another look at Aston Martin as Williams make 2026 debut
While the performance of the Honda engine will be a major factor in whether Aston Martin can become contenders for race wins this season, it's the team's first Newey-designed chassis that will undoubtedly command much attention once more this week.
Only a brief glimpse of the AMR26 was offered in Barcelona as Aston Martin finally got the car ready to go on track late on Thursday, before following up with a fuller day of running on the Friday, albeit one where they were not risking pushing the power unit to its maximum capacity.
Given the teams had control over the images and footage of their cars that was released, it's been difficult to fully analyse what Newey himself has described as an "extreme" interpretation of the regulations.
With the media, including Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater, in attendance in Bahrain, more detailed analysis of the car will be forthcoming from trackside.
And then there is a car that hasn't been seen at all, with Williams set to make their first pre-season appearance after missing out in Barcelona following a failed crash test.
Williams at least have the benefit of running the Mercedes engine that was well tested by Mercedes, McLaren and Alpine in Barcelona, and can therefore be reasonably confident of avoiding any major trouble in that area.
It remains to be seen how costly missing out on running in Barcelona will prove, but as a result of the team's blunder there will be increased scrutiny on the FW48.
Hope for Hamilton and Ferrari?
Second to Mercedes on the mileage charts in Barcelona were Ferrari, but there didn't seem to be quite as much excitement around, or even within, the Italian team.
Lewis Hamilton said his team were doing better than they had done the previous year, but that wasn't really saying much given a technical issue lost him crucial track time ahead of his debut campaign in red amid a much more limited testing schedule.
Ferrari appeared to have strong reliability and some decent pace to go with it as Hamilton set the fastest time of the week on the final day, but few seem to be expecting them to mount a title challenge.
That could be due to fears they are going to be behind on the engine side amid the compression ratio dispute, or might be down a lack of confidence in their design department after a hugely disappointing 2025 season.
In contrast, going into 2025 testing, most were expecting Ferrari to be right there with McLaren as the front-runners, but by the end of the week it had become apparent they were behind.
Hamilton, who continues his hunt for a record eighth drivers' title, will hope there is a complete reverse of what happened 12 months ago.
Sky Sports F1's Bahrain Testing schedule
Test One: Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th February
- 3pm: Final hour of track running Live
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted's Testing Notebook
Test Two: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning session Live
- 11.55am-4.10pm: Afternoon session Live
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
