F1 Testing talking points: Ferrari in tight ‘big four’ battle but is Lewis Hamilton on the back foot after Bahrain events? | F1 News

With Formula 1’s extended 2026 testing schedule complete, Sky Sports F1 assess the key learnings made ahead of next month’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

After a shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January, F1’s teams have just had back-to-back official three-day tests in Bahrain to ensure their all-new cars for 2026 are fully prepared for action in Melbourne from March 6-8.

The introduction of both new power units and chassis meant extra track time was arranged to ensure the new technology got bedded in, but the 11 days of action have also served to provide a reasonable idea of the competitive picture.

Aside from the pecking order, there has been plenty of learning for F1 drivers and fans alike about the new cars, with the energy deployment of the new engines emerging as a potential element, along with how the power units behave at a race start.

Big four remain in charge – but in what order?

For a long time ahead of this regulation change, the teams outside of F1’s established elite had envisaged the new rules as a major opportunity to become contenders at the front.

The early signs are that they have failed to do this, with the teams that have occupied the top four positions for each of the last three seasons – Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull – appearing to maintain a significant advantage over the rest of the field.

While that might be a little disappointing for anyone who was expecting a total reset, the exciting news is that the ‘big four’ appear to be pretty evenly matched.

They’ve spent much of the last two weeks anointing each other as the fastest team, and it would take a brave individual to rule any of them out of title contention at this stage.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insisted after the final day of running that he thinks Mercedes and Ferrari are “a step ahead” of his squad and Red Bull, which seems to fit reasonably well with the consensus around the paddock.

Ferrari set the fastest time in Bahrain as Charles Leclerc delivered some statement laps on the final afternoon, but it’s the longer race simulations at testing that would usually provide the most reliable indicator of performance.

In that area, the four teams were closely matched, but suspicions remain around the paddock as to just how much performance might be being held back, with many believing Mercedes could go to another level in Australia.

For now, it sets up the first weekend of the season perfectly, with there bound to be huge excitement when qualifying begins at Albert Park.

Have Hamilton’s hopes been dented?

While it was a good week for Ferrari on the whole, Lewis Hamilton might leave Bahrain feeling a little hard done by after his run at the final event was interrupted by some technical issues.

Ferrari had enjoyed near-perfect reliability in Barcelona and at the first Bahrain event, but Hamilton was kept off track for 90 minutes after taking over the car from Leclerc on Wednesday afternoon, before another issue limited him to just five laps on Thursday morning.

Hamilton would get through 79 laps on Thursday afternoon but ended the week with 71 fewer laps completed than his team-mate. With the seven-time world champion trying to bounce back from a hugely disappointing first campaign with Ferrari, this was not ideal final preparation.

Throw into the mix that he last week admitted his unhappiness at having a temporary race engineer in place for the opening rounds of the season, and it would appear Leclerc might be arriving in Australia the more settled of the Ferrari pair.

Hamilton’s only media availability of the week was before either of the technical issues arose, therefore it remains unclear exactly how the Brit is feeling about his preparations.

A similar situation played out at Mercedes, where Kimi Antonelli bore the brunt of the technical issues the Silver Arrows faced over the two Bahrain tests, potentially giving an advantage to his team-mate George Russell, who already holds a major edge in terms of experience.

Do Ferrari have an advantage at starts?

Some of the most entertaining moments of the second Bahrain test came as a new starting procedure was trialled at the end of sessions.

There had been concerns along the pit lane that the procedure from the previous regulations did not allow enough time for drivers to prepare their new power units to efficiently pull away from the grid.

Ferrari had reportedly rejected a rule change having purposefully built their power unit to meet this specific challenge, but eventually appeared to be on board with the FIA trialling the addition of an extra five seconds between the last car pulling up on the grid and the start procedure beginning.

Even with the new system, Ferrari appeared to have extraordinary starting prowess, with Hamilton twice rocketing off the line on Thursday’s practice starts.

By the final practice start on Friday night, some other teams appeared to have made strides, but the red cars will be worth keeping a close eye on at the start in Melbourne.

Woeful week for Aston Martin

Over the last year or two, Aston Martin have perhaps been the team that has been the most vocal about breaking into the top four, but they couldn’t be further away at this point.

Team owner Lawrence Stroll has thrown huge amounts of money at the project, building a new factory and assembling an all-star technical team led by legendary designer Adrian Newey.

While few expected them to be ready to battle for wins and titles immediately, their performance so far has been shockingly bad.

The problems, which limited them to just 128 laps this week – 138 fewer than the newcomers Cadillac – seem to largely stem from their Honda power unit.

Honda were hugely successful in F1’s previous generation, powering Max Verstappen to four successive titles from 2021-2025, but their first attempt under the new specification appears to be experiencing significant teething issues.

In a statement released after they managed just six laps on the final day, chief trackside officer Mike Krack admitted that there is “a huge amount of work ahead” to overcome their issues.

Lance Stroll insisted the team will “stick together”, but it remains to be seen how his team-mate Fernando Alonso, seeking a final shot at glory at the age of 44, will cope with a demoralising start to 2026.

Few would argue against Newey being the best designer in the sport, but even his brilliance will be near worthless if Honda are unable to get the power unit firing, which is a challenge made harder by the fact Aston Martin are the only team running it.

Who is the best of the rest?

With Aston Martin absent from this conversation, the early midfield front-runners appear to be Alpine and Haas.

Alpine basically packed in their 2025 season before it had started, so anything less than a major improvement would have been disappointing, but they do appear to have made impressive strides.

The fact they have become a Mercedes engine customer stands them in good stead, with the power unit appearing to perform well for the Silver Arrows and their three customer teams.

Any concerns that Alpine, along with McLaren and Williams, might be negatively impacted by the power unit dispute that has dominated the pre-season appeared to be eased by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s calm reaction to the FIA’s proposal for a mid-season rule change.

Fighting most closely with Alpine in Bahrain were Haas, who appear ready to punch above their weight once more under the impressive leadership of Ayao Komatsu.

Britain’s Oliver Bearman was sixth – behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly – on the final day of testing, and could have a car that gives him plenty of opportunities to prove to Ferrari that he can be Hamilton’s successor.

The 20-year-old came through the Ferrari academy and was loaned out to Haas on a multi-year deal, but has made no secret of his ambition to progress into a race seat with the Italian team.

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