4 things to expect from pre-season testing in Bahrain?
9th February 2026Formula 1 returns next week for the second bout of pre-season tests ahead of the upcoming season, and here are four things to expect from Bahrain.
Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool
Laptime/Pre-Season caveat
The first and obvious thing to expect will be lap times as the teams and drivers will look to continue gathering more data after their shakedown in Barcelona. However, this comes with the usual caveat that it is only pre-season testing.
Whilst laptimes put on the board by the drivers can give an early expectation of the pecking order, it is to be taken with a pinch of salt, as all of the teams are known to ‘sandbag’ their performance.
Meaning, the teams and drivers will most likely hide their performance advantage until they head to Melbourne. Like bluffing your hand in a game of poker.
Aero-rakes
Whilst aero-rakes are used periodically throughout the season, when new upgrades are introduced to their cars as the development war races on, they take a stand-out appearance in pre-season testing.
This is because the lap times don’t mean anything, to be frank. Testing is the only time the teams join together where they are not competing against each other.
Pre-season is the most prominent time the teams will run metal rakes on the front, middle and rear of their cars to give them real-life data to match up against their simulations.
Williams’ first run
It will be a vital test for Williams F1, who will finally get their car out on track for the first time in an official F1 session. This test follows the Barcelona shakedown in which the Grove-based team missed out completely due to delays in their car programme.
Rumours circulated that Williams had failed their crash tests ahead of the Shakedown week, which they were originally scheduled to participate in.
Whilst the team were able to complete VTT (Virtual Test Track) programmes, the first test in Bahrain will give them their first official runs on a track following their shakedown earlier this week.
However, they will be forced to play catch-up as they are the only F1 outfit that has not run their car yet. They will be trailing behind newcomers Cadillac and Audi, who managed to get some mileage under their belt in Barcelona.
Broadcast
The shakedown week brought significant disapproval from fans and the media, with the teams and the sport holding a private test session at the end of January.
This will continue, to some extent, this week, as the sport confirmed a reduced broadcast schedule for the first testing sessions in Bahrain. It was confirmed that only the final hour of testing will be broadcast across all three days from February 11-13.
Fortunately for the fans, the second test, which will take place next week, will be broadcast in its entirety.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Cadillac reveals contrasting livery ahead of F1 season
- Williams F1 reveal 2026 livery
- McLaren reveals shakedown livery as testing gets underway
- Williams F1 confirm delays forcing to miss shakedown
- Alpine showcase 2026 contender on ship ahead of F1 season
- Ferrari reveal striking red and white livery ahead of F1 2026
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
