Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Formula 1

F1 2026 Bahrain week one pre-season testing driver line-ups

Check out who is driving for which team and when during F1 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain this week!

Bahrain flag
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

F1 2026 pre-season testing is upon us this week, with all 11 teams in action as they build up their knowledge and understanding of the sport's latest machinery following a major overhaul of the regulations.

The teams surprised even themselves with how reliably they ran during the five-day shakedown conducted at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya at the end of January, with the cars sporting significant changes to the power units and new aerodynamics as the ground-effects era of the last four years is now a thing of the past.

Unlike in Barcelona, where the weather was cold, cloudy, and even rainy on occasion, the teams will at least enjoy uninterrupted running as the forecast is for plenty of sunshine across the three days from February 11-13, with temperatures in the high 20s.

The test this week is the first of two at the Bahrain International Circuit, with another three days next week on February 18-20.

The six days in total will allow the drivers, at least, the opportunity to get on top of the different driving style required for cars now running on a 50-50 split of combustion and electrical power.

It has become apparent that the question of how best to harvest and deploy the energy in the battery, with 350kW solely from the MGU-K, as the MGU-H has been removed for this season, needs to be answered and understood.

Whatever happens, it should be a fascinating three days this week in Bahrain.

Check out the driver line-ups below! To be updated as each team confirms its schedule.

2026 F1 pre-season testing driver line-ups - Bahrain week 1

F1 2026 Bahrain week one pre-season testing driver line-ups
Team Wednesday Thursday Friday
McLaren TBC TBC TBC
Mercedes Russell [AM] - Antonelli [PM] Antonelli [AM] - Russell [PM] Russell [AM] - Antonelli [PM]
Red Bull Max Verstappen Isack Hadjar Verstappen [AM] - Hadjar [PM]
Ferrari TBC TBC TBC
Williams Sainz [AM] - Albon [PM] Albon [AM] - Sainz [PM] Sainz [AM] - Albon [PM]
Racing Bulls Arvid Lindblad Lawson [AM] - Lindblad [PM] Liam Lawson
Aston Martin Lance Stroll Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll
Haas Esteban Ocon Oliver Bearman Bearman [AM] - Ocon [PM]
Audi Bortoleto [AM] - Hulkenberg [PM] Hulkenberg [AM] - Bortoleto [PM] Bortoleto [AM] - Hulkenberg [PM]
Alpine Colapinto [AM] - Gasly [PM] Pierre Gasly Franco Colapinto
Cadillac TBC TBC TBC

Also interesting:

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look ahead to the first of two three-day tests in Bahrain! The trio discuss who to keep an eye on and the fascinating approaches being taken to car development in 2026.

Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!

Join the conversation!

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
aus GP Australië 08 Mar 2026
chn GP China 15 Mar 2026
jpn GP Japan 29 Mar 2026
bhr GP Bahrein 12 Apr 2026
sau GP Saoedi-Arabië 19 Apr 2026
usa GP Miami 03 May 2026
Full calendar
x
LATEST Crucial Red Bull figure to miss first Bahrain F1 test