F1 weather forecast for first Bahrain pre-season test

The 11 F1 teams can expect largely ideal weather conditions during the first official pre-season test of the year at the Bahrain International Circuit, with warm temperatures, plenty of sunshine and no disruption expected from rain.

Bahrain’s climate is notoriously hot for much of the year, but February offers one of the most pleasant windows on the calendar.

Daytime temperatures during the test, which runs from Wednesday 11 February to Friday 13 February, are forecast to rise consistently to between 24 and 26 degrees Celsius, while overnight lows dip to around 19 degrees.

Across all three days, conditions are expected to remain sunny and dry, with only occasional high, thin veil clouds passing through. These clouds are unlikely to have any meaningful impact on running and will do little to reduce the strong sunshine bathing the Sakhir circuit throughout the day.

Winds are forecast to blow moderately to at times quite strongly from the east to southeast, a familiar feature in Bahrain. While not extreme, these winds can influence car balance on the straights and may play a small role in aerodynamic correlation work — something teams will be monitoring closely during early testing.

Although the sun will shine, the sky may not always appear completely steel-blue. This is partly due to the presence of high-level veil clouds, but also because of Saharan dust suspended in the atmosphere, which is relatively common in the region. The dust is expected to remain aloft, meaning drivers and teams should experience little to no direct impact on visibility or air quality.

Overall, the forecast points to stable, repeatable conditions across all three days — exactly what teams want during the first meaningful running of the new season.

With no rain expected and temperatures remaining consistent, the Bahrain test should provide a strong baseline for performance analysis as Formula 1’s 2026 campaign begins.