F1 2026: Winners and losers from the final pre-season testing in Bahrain 

Formula One’s winter testing in Bahrain has come to an end, and although it is always difficult to know where everyone stands after pre-season, some teams are already exceeding expectations, while others clearly have a lot of work to do. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers to come out of the Bahrain testing during week two.

Winners — Mercedes

Mercedes were branded the big favourites for 2026 after the Barcelona test, and they’ve left Sakhir with that label intact, though only just. 

The Silver Arrows topped both the timing charts and laps completed on the first two days of the final winter test. Their race simulations were also very impressive, as George Russell’s average times on long runs edged out key rivals on Thursday. The consensus in the paddock is that Mercedes and Ferrari are at the very front of the grid.

However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli faced engine issues on Day 3, bringing out the red flag after completing only 49 laps in the morning and later admitting that race starts were a “weak point” for the Brackley-based team on Friday.

Overall, Mercedes will head into the 2026 season as early favourites after a mostly clean Bahrain test. That said, it doesn’t look like they’ve stolen a 2014-like march on the rest of the field. 

Winners — Ferrari 

Could this finally be Ferrari’s season? Well, the early signs are certainly looking positive, with the Scuderia already turning heads in the paddock thanks to strong reliability, impressive lap times, and ingenuity on the technical side.

On the final day of the Bahrain test, Charles Leclerc set the timesheets on fire, showcasing his blistering pace in the new SF-26. The Monégasque topped the charts with a 1:31.992, becoming the only driver on the grid to break into the 1:31s across all of Bahrain testing.

The 28-year-old also completed 132 laps on Friday, only behind Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz in that metric. Although Mercedes are still considered the early favourites, rivals and people around the paddock believe the Italian team aren’t far behind on race pace.

Besides, Ferrari also wasn’t short of technical ingenuity. On Day 2, they stunned the F1 world with a rear wing that went upside-down when the SF-26 activated straight mode, reducing drag and even generating lift, though it was only on display for five laps. Nevertheless, this adds to the impressive diffuser, with a “mini-wing” sat at the exhaust exit.

Moreover, the Maranello-based outfit also seem to have an advantage at race starts too. On Day 2, Lewis Hamilton blasted past several rivals during a practice start in the morning despite starting from the P9 grid box. As the 2026 cars are already looking like a tricky generation for overtaking, don’t be surprised if the Scuderia are found fighting right at the front in the early stages of the season.

Winners — Red Bull

After an impressive showing in the first pre-season testing in Barcelona and then in the first test in Bahrain, Mercedes’ Toto Wolff claimed Red Bull were the early benchmark for 2026. However, the second week of testing has painted a slightly different picture, although both Red Bull and Racing Bulls still look impressive in terms of reliability, despite using their own Red Bull Ford power units for the very first time.

On Day 2, Max Verstappen completed 139 laps across both morning and afternoon sessions; only McLaren and Mercedes achieved more. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, meanwhile, broke records on Friday as he became the first driver to go beyond 160 laps in one day in Bahrain. 

And all that reliability isn’t for nothing, as the new Red Bull Ford Powertrains engine has proved itself to be competitive, with Verstappen’s quickest time only just over two-tenths behind Oscar Piastri’s time in third. Although the four-time world champion has already expressed his gripes with the new regulations, calling it “anti-racing” and “Formula E on steroids”, he’ll at least be pleased with the fact that he has a car that is reliable and near the front of the grid. 

Losers — Aston Martin

With legendary designer and now team principal Adrian Newey at the helm, Honda (world champions with Red Bull as recently as 2024) supplying the power unit, and the financial backing of billionaire owner Lawrence Stroll as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), all the ingredients for success seem to be there for Aston Martin.

But their new car, delayed by the fact Newey did not arrive until March last year, is uncompetitive and difficult to drive, and the engine is lacking power and reliability. As a result, Aston Martin completed the fewest laps of testing, and it looks like they may even be in worse shape than newcomers Cadillac, who everyone has been expecting to finish last this year.

But the worst was still to come on Friday, as engine supplier Honda released a statement citing a “battery-related issue” that would limit their final day of running, with Lance Stroll completing just six laps across morning and afternoon sessions.

For Fernando Alonso, though, this must have come with an agonising sense of déjà vu. From 2015 to 2018, he spent three painful years at McLaren, when Honda were under-prepared after re-entering F1 in 2015. This time again he’s facing similar challenges, at the age of 44, with his contract running out at the end of the year. 

The feeling around the team is that legendary chief designer and new team principal Adrian Newey will eventually turn things around. How long it takes, though, is another matter, and one thing Alonso does not have much of is time. 

Losers — Williams

After finishing the 2025 season fifth in the Constructors’ championship, the 2026 season was supposed to be the next step in Williams’ ambition of a return to the top of F1.

Team principal James Vowles has been talking for two years about how much of an opportunity the new rules are to move forward. He was vocal last season regarding how early they had switched to the 2026 design, compromising 2025 in the process.

However, Williams, like Aston Martin, arrived late to pre-season testing after being the only team to miss the Barcelona shakedown, and while the Grove-based team have by no means endured the same level of hardship, they too are expected to start 2026 playing catch-up.

The 2026 Williams car has been a disappointment so far, having been overweight by a significant margin — said to be anywhere between 25 and 40 kilos — and lacking downforce.

It’s far from catastrophic, but after securing two podiums and a P5 finish in the championship last year, the hype around Williams in the build-up to 2026 has certainly stalled. There is a feeling that the likes of Haas, Alpine, and even Audi could all be ahead of Williams in the pecking order when the action starts in Melbourne.