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
| Team | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Piastri [AM] - Norris [PM] | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri |
| Mercedes | Russell [AM] - Antonelli [PM] | Antonelli [AM] - Russell [PM] | Russell [AM] - Antonelli [PM] |
| Red Bull | Max Verstappen | Isack Hadjar | Verstappen [AM] - Hadjar [PM] |
| Ferrari | Hamilton [AM] - Leclerc [PM] | Charles Leclerc | Lewis Hamilton |
| 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 | Bottas [AM] - Perez [PM] | Perez [AM] - Bottas [PM] | 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.
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