Formula 1 held its first official pre-season test for the 2026 campaign in Bahrain this week, offering a glimpse into the wholesale regulation changes which'll debut this year. 

All 11 teams were present and there were several talking points from the action, such as debates over who the benchmark is to Max Verstappen expressing his anger over the new rules. 

So here are the key stats from the test. 

Antonelli fastest but completes fewest amount of laps

Mercedes dominated the top of the timesheets, setting the only times under 1m34s in Bahrain with Italian teen Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking the fastest lap across the three days.

The 19-year-old, now in his sophomore year, claimed a 1m33.669s on Friday which was 0.249s quicker than team-mate George Russell, who was second fastest during that final day. 

But lap times should be taken with a pinch of salt in testing, as mileage is what's most important. That is an area Antonelli actually fell short on, as he completed the fewest laps overall due to various technical problems for the W17.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Alexander Albon, Williams, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

On the other end of the scale, seven drivers reached, or even exceeded, 200 laps: Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Oliver Bearman.

McLaren and Williams with most mileage

Four teams exceeded 2,000 km with McLaren and Williams topping that table on 2,284km. This is particularly good news for the James Vowles-led outfit, as it was absent from the Barcelona shakedown.

Mercedes, meanwhile, which significantly impressed in Catalonia, actually completed the second fewest amount of laps in Bahrain as it endured various technical difficulties. The most notable was the morning of day two when Antonelli completed just three laps thanks to a power unit problem.

But behind Mercedes was Aston Martin, whose delays and various technical issues limited it to just over 1,000km.

Total KM
(Bahrain 1 + Barcelona)

Honda lagging behind other power unit manufacturers

On the engine side, unsurprisingly, Mercedes racked up the most mileage with over 13,000km thanks to that power unit being the most popular on the grid with four teams.

But in terms of average kilometres per squad, Ferrari performed better with each team powered by the Italian marque averaging over 2,000km in Bahrain. 

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Audi, which has only its factory squad, is just below the Mercedes average but above Red Bull, which is rather impressive given the German marque is making its F1 debut this year. 

Honda, however, which powers Aston Martin, is struggling having completed the least mileage of the five power unit manufacturers in F1.

KM

(Bahrain 1)

Red flags at the Bahrain tests 1

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Las Vegas, a city traditionally known for its dazzling casinos and vibrant nightlife, is experiencing an exciting transformation in the realm of tourism. While the iconic allure of blackjack and slot machines remains a central attraction, the city has taken substantial strides to diversify its tourism portfolio. Today, Las Vegas is embracing innovative experiences that appeal to a wider range of visitors, from sports enthusiasts to food lovers and cultural seekers.

A Thrilling Sports Scene

In recent years, Las Vegas has made significant efforts to position itself as a major hub for sports tourism. With over 35 annual sporting events held throughout the year, the city has become a go-to destination for fans of all types of competitions. From world-class boxing matches to thrilling NASCAR races, there is no shortage of adrenaline-pumping events to enjoy. Notably, the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, a stunning night race that takes place on the Las Vegas Strip, has become a showstopper event, attracting global visitors year after year.

High-profile events like the annual rodeo, professional wrestling shows, and major boxing tournaments further cement Las Vegas as a prime destination for sports enthusiasts. Visitors can now plan their trips around these exciting events, making it more than just a casino getaway.

Allegiant Stadium: The Heart of Sports and Sustainability

At the center of Las Vegas’ growing sports scene stands Allegiant Stadium. This state-of-the-art venue, costing US$1.9 billion, serves as the home for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and the UNLV Rebels college football team. More than just a sports arena, Allegiant Stadium is a green marvel, fully powered by renewable energy. The venue features a retractable grass field, adding to the versatility of the stadium for various events, from Super Bowls to live concerts and major sports tournaments.

With a seating capacity of 65,000, Allegiant Stadium has hosted some of the most iconic events in recent years, including the Super Bowl and WrestleMania. Its impressive design and commitment to sustainability make it a must-see for any sports lover visiting Las Vegas.

Las Vegas’ Rising Star Sports Teams

Beyond major international events, Las Vegas is also home to some championship-winning teams. The Las Vegas Aces, a team in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), have clinched multiple championships, becoming a major player in women’s sports. Additionally, the Vegas Golden Knights, the city’s professional ice hockey team, made headlines in 2023 by winning their first-ever Stanley Cup, further solidifying Las Vegas as a city with a rich sports legacy. These successes are integral to the city’s newfound reputation as a year-round sports destination.

New Venues and Attractions Changing the Cityscape

Alongside sports, Las Vegas has seen an influx of new entertainment venues and attractions that continue to evolve the city’s identity. One of the most remarkable additions is Sphere, which opened in September 2023. This world-renowned spherical building is the largest of its kind and offers an unparalleled multimedia experience, combining state-of-the-art visuals with immersive sound. Sphere hosts a variety of events, including concerts and special performances, offering visitors a truly unique experience. Notably, it will feature a 4D version of “The Wizard of Oz,” marking a new era for immersive theatrical experiences.

Innovative Dining Experiences

Las Vegas’ culinary scene has long been a major draw for visitors, and the city continues to innovate with new dining experiences that cater to all tastes and budgets. Renowned chef James Trees has introduced “High Steaks,” a fine dining restaurant that promises a memorable meal, while Michelin-star chef Jeremy Ford leads “Stubborn Seed,” offering an exquisite culinary journey.

The city is also seeing a rise in themed dining experiences, such as Netflix Bites at MGM Grand, where guests can indulge in dishes inspired by popular TV shows. Martha Stewart has added to the variety with her sophisticated restaurant, The Bedford, at Paris Las Vegas, and Via Via Food Hall at The Venetian Resort offers an affordable, global cuisine experience.

These new dining trends are making Las Vegas a food lover’s paradise, providing options for those seeking high-end meals or a casual bite while exploring the Strip.

Entertainment: A Staple of Las Vegas’ Appeal

Las Vegas’ entertainment scene remains as vibrant as ever. The city is known for its high-quality live shows, including long-running Cirque du Soleil productions and performances by major pop stars. The addition of new acts and performances from both pop icons and legendary country musicians only adds to the city’s dynamic offerings.

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A New Chapter for Las Vegas Tourism

Las Vegas’ evolution beyond its traditional casino offerings reflects the city’s commitment to providing diverse and innovative experiences. While the allure of blackjack and roulette will always remain, the city now caters to a wider range of interests, from world-class sporting events to cutting-edge dining and immersive entertainment. With its sustainable infrastructure, championship-winning teams, and ever-expanding list of attractions, Las Vegas is proving that it is more than just a gambling destination – it is a must-visit city for tourists seeking something truly extraordinary.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has urged Formula 1 to agree to several refinements to the 2026 power unit rules to improve the show and general safety.

F1's shift to power units with a much bigger electric component, close to 50% of the total power output, has caused trepidation for many months. But as cars finally hit the track in anger at Barcelona's shakedown and Bahrain's official first pre-season test, it has emerged that there are three main outstanding issues that are causing the teams and drivers the biggest headaches.

The first is the race starts, which have become more complex because cars are now relying on the V6 engine to spool up the turbo at the start. In Bahrain cars were heard going on throttle for over 10 seconds to get the boost levels up to the required level. But timing the procedure slightly wrong could either cause a slow getaway or pitch the car into anti-stall, which happened to Alpine's Franco Colapinto at the end of Friday's running. Furthermore, cars at the back of the grid line up so late that under the current procedures they might not even get the required 10 seconds to spool up the turbo.

There are also concerns over the necessity to lift and coast at the end of a straight, which could cause dangerous closing speeds with a car going flat out behind. Another worry is the fact that cars are so energy starved that they run out of battery power so early that in the absence of a DRS-like system there is less scope to gain overspeed on the car in front.

What is making the matter extra critical is that Barcelona and Bahrain aren't even considered anywhere near the worst circuits for energy harvesting, so incidents could escalate further at more power-hungry circuits.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella is urging the F1 community to come together to implement key fixes in time for Melbourne's season opener to improve the situation, both on safety ground and to improve the on-track spectacle. Next Wednesday's F1 Commission meeting with the 11 teams, the FIA and commercial rightsholder FOM is an opportunity to agree to any 11th-hour changes ahead of the Australian curtain raiser on 8 March.

"We are not talking about how fast you are in qualifying. We are not talking about what is your race pace. We are talking about safety on the grid," Stella said about the complicated race start procedures. "There are some topics which are simply bigger than the competitive interest. And for me, having safety on the grid, which can be achieved with simple adjustment, is just a no-brainer."

One solution could be to make tweaks to the timing of the start procedure to give drivers a bigger window to spool up turbocharges to the right RPM level on the grid.

"We need to make sure that the race start procedure allows all cars to have the power unit ready to go, because the grid is not the place in which you want to have cars slow in taking off the grid," Stella explained. "This is a bigger interest than any competitive interest. So, I think all teams and the FIA should play the game of responsibility when it comes to what is needed."
 
Overtaking has now been complicated by the removal of DRS and the introduction of active aerodynamics, which allow all cars to flatten their front and rear wings on designated straights, limiting to ability to create a speed difference.

"In the past, DRS created such an advantage from an aerodynamic drag point of view for the following car," Stella set out. "This year, when you follow somebody, you have the same drag and the same power, so it becomes quite difficult to overtake. Our drivers have been racing with other drivers during these three days of testing in Bahrain and they found it extremely difficult to overtake."

Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Stella, McLaren

The boost mode that has been implemented is felt not to make enough of a difference to offset the lack of DRS, because cars generally don't have enough energy left to expend anyway. One possible solution here would be to reduce the maximum allowed electric power output in the race, currently 350kW, which has the double benefit of cars running out of energy much later on the straight as well as ensuring that the new boost mode actually works as advertised to create a bigger offset.

"The fact that you have an additional amount of energy when you follow and you are within the one second is difficult to exploit, because this extra energy may mean that there is just a little bit more deployment at the end of the straight, if anything," Stella said.

"So I think, again, as an F1 community, we should look at what can be done to make sure that we have a sensible feasibility when it comes to overtaking. Otherwise, we lose one of the fundamental elements of the nature of racing, which is giving drivers the possibility to overtake.

Stella's final point on limiting the need for lifting and coasting is also a big safety concern given the extreme closing speeds with the current cars when the car in front runs out of battery, which could see a repeat of incidents like Mark Webber's huge airborne shunt in Valencia in 2010.

"This may not be an ideal situation when you follow closely and this can give a race situation like we have seen before a few times with Webber in Valencia, [Riccardo] Patrese in Portugal and there are a few more that definitely we don't want to see anymore in Formula 1," Stella cautioned.

Marshals remove the wrecked car of Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

One way to at least reduce the need for lift-and-coast techniques is to make tweaks to the regulations around 'superclipping' which is the phenomenon when cars start harvesting energy while still going full throttle. Currently cars are allowed to 'superclip' up to 250kW, but increasing the amount to the full 350kW capacity of the electric motor would give cars more energy to play with without resorting to more dangerous techniques.

"[It's about] three simple things - starts, overtaking and finding measures to avoid the lift and cost," Stella concluded. "I think these simple technical solutions exist and they will be discussed in the next F1 Commission.

"I think it's imperative because it's possible and it's simple. So, we should not complicate what is simple and we should not postpone what is possible immediately."

It remains to be seen if teams will find common ground in the F1 Commission meeting, although the FIA could push through changes if necessary on safety grounds.

Max Verstappen demolishes "anti-racing" and "not fun" 2026 F1 cars

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George Russell topped the final morning session of Formula 1’s first Bahrain pre-season test, leading Lewis Hamilton.

Russell set the fastest time of the week so far less than half an hour into Friday’s running, with a 1m34.075s on soft tyres. Thirty minutes later, the Mercedes driver improved his own benchmark to a 1m33.918s, precisely as Ferrari’s Hamilton set a 1m34.209s.

Nobody else lapped any quicker than 1m35s, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull in 1m35.341s, followed by Haas’ Oliver Bearman in 1m35.972s and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in 1m36.390s.

Mercedes is sandbagging amid F1 engine row, Max Verstappen claims

Franco Colapinto and Carlos Sainz took sixth and seventh for Alpine and Williams, with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson half a tenth slower than the Spaniard after using exclusively medium tyres over his 84 laps this morning – more mileage than anyone.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who ran almost exclusively on the hard compound before a late run on softs, led Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. The Canadian was 4.5 seconds off the pace, which ironically is precisely what he said the AMR26 was lacking in performance.

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

After Cadillac caused an early red flag on Thursday when Sergio Perez stopped on track – though its yet-to-be-named car went on to complete a 105-lap day – Valtteri Bottas managed just eight laps this morning before suffering the same fate.

It took nearly two hours for Cadillac to sort the issue. The Finnish veteran was able to cover 37 laps, but still propped up the time sheet.

F1 Bahrain pre-season test Day 3 morning results

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Alex Albon's partner Lily Muni He has shared details of their romantic engagement during the winter break.

The couple announced their engagement on 16 January 2026, with a Polaroid-style photo and the caption, "I guess we’re stuck with each other now."

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While the couple have understandably remained fairly private about the personal milestone, Muni He has now shared some details.

"No [I didn't expect it]. He did a really good job," the professional golfer explained during the PIF Saudi Ladies International at Riyadh Golf Club. "I was a bit surprised, my nails were not done, but not awful either, so it worked out," she said as she giggled.

"But yeah, it's been a really good off-season."

She added: "We were in Big Sur at the end of our training camp. So we did a week and a half of training camp, two weeks in LA and Palm Springs, and then we flew to Big Sur just for a few days of a holiday. We were at night stargazing. So it was very romantic."

HD video of Lily talking about the engagement AWWWWW pic.twitter.com/r5GwV5IYK5

— “Doctor” Ava (@63grussell63) February 12, 2026

Albon and Muni He have been together since 2019, having met on social media after taking an interest in each other's sports.

The Williams Formula 1 driver is currently taking part in pre-season testing in Bahrain. After the team missed the private shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January due to delays on the FW48, the first three days of testing have offered the team some crucial track time.

"It is frustrating," he told the media when asked if it was painful to arrive in Bahrain on the back foot. "And I think as a team, it's not where we want to be. But at the same time, the good thing is we weren't sitting around doing nothing.

"We were still on the VTT. I think you see it. It's not that we've hit the ground running, but we've been able to be quite reliable very quickly."

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Max Verstappen did not take to the track on Thursday at Formula 1’s Bahrain pre-season test, yet the headlines were still dominated by the four-time world champion.

The Red Bull driver fulfilled his media duties and shared his views on the new regulations, describing F1’s new era as “Formula E on steroids” and “anti-racing”.

Max Verstappen demolishes "anti-racing" and "not fun" 2026 F1 cars

“Toto forgot a zero” over compression ratio claim

Besides energy management, another term that continues to dominate conversations in the paddock is the compression ratio. Toto Wolff has stated that the alleged engine trick – whereby Mercedes complies with the 16:1 limit during static tests but achieves a higher ratio while running – only makes a small difference.

The Mercedes team boss estimated the gain at 2-3hp, but Verstappen clearly sees things differently.

When Motorsport.com put Wolff’s comments to him during the Dutch media session, the four-time world champion responded: “You definitely have to add a zero to that! And maybe even more. But, you know, I fully understand what they are trying to do these days.”

George Russell, Mercedes

With those final words, Verstappen suggested that Mercedes is attempting to divert attention. By placing Red Bull in the role of favourite – something several Mercedes customer teams have also done – Wolff is hoping to stay under the radar, in Verstappen’s view, particularly with the FIA facing an important decision regarding the compression ratio.

Is Mercedes sandbagging to an extreme extent?

Verstappen is convinced that Mercedes is far from showing its full hand in Bahrain.

“Well, I can tell you one thing: just wait until Melbourne and see how much power they suddenly find. I already know that right now,” he claimed.

According to Verstappen, Mercedes is sandbagging to an extreme extent, much more than most other teams on the F1 grid.

“They are obviously trying to shift the focus to us because we did so many laps on Wednesday. But you have to look at it from both sides. Just wait until Melbourne and see how fast they suddenly go on all the straights.”

Verstappen considers it nonsensical that Red Bull is being pushed forward by rivals as the favourite.

“Let's look back at the last 10 years of winter testing,” he added. “I don't think you can say who was the world champion on day one, especially with a new ruleset like this.

“For me personally, it's more like diversion tactics. But that's okay. I mean, I focus on what we're doing here with the team. Because honestly, for us, there's still so much to learn. This new ruleset is so complex that we just want to do our laps. And yeah, just go from there.”

The fact that Formula 1 is currently so political does not, according to Verstappen, irritate him: “No, everyone can say what they want. I’m at a point where it already doesn’t really bother me at all. It doesn’t affect me, especially not if the car isn’t nice to drive. Then I’m busy with other things, working hard to get the GT3 car in a good place, for example.”

Max Verstappen didn't want to drive 2026 car in simulator: ‘Doesn't help me stay in F1’

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