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Oscar Piastri arrived in Bahrain with unfinished b

Oscar Piastri arrived in Bahrain with unfinished business. After looking like the 2025 title favourite and building a 34-point lead, his campaign bent at the worst time: the Azerbaijan crashes, then six races without a podium. McLaren’s read was consistent and specific, pointing to low-grip weekends where the car slid more and extracting lap time meant committing to understeer, oversteer and lock-ups rather than trying to tidy them away.

That’s why the chatter has returned as F1 heads into its 2026 reset. Early signs suggest smaller, lighter cars with less downforce and a lot more movement: snappy, sliding, and demanding patience on braking and traction. It could expose the same weakness again, or give Piastri a cleaner, more progressive kind of low grip that suits him better. With Norris now the reigning champion, the internal pressure is real, and 2026 may be decided by who stays fastest while the platform never fully settles.

#F1 #OscarPiastri #McLaren #BahrainTesting #F12026 #Formula1

Lando Norris gave a no-nonsense reply in Bahrain t

Lando Norris gave a no-nonsense reply in Bahrain to Max Verstappen’s gloomy verdict on F1’s 2026 rules: if you don’t like it, nobody’s forcing you to stay. Norris said he’s enjoying the new-spec cars so far and reckons drivers can’t complain too loudly when the job is still driving the fastest cars in the world for huge money.

Verstappen, after piling on laps, branded the new era “anti-racing” and compared it to “Formula E on steroids” as F1 heads for a 50/50 electric and biofuel split with lighter cars and energy management at the centre. Norris admitted the cars don’t yet feel as quick or as polished, but backed the challenge and expects pace to come fast as teams develop them. And whatever Verstappen says now, Norris expects the same thing when it counts: Max will still go all-in to win.

#F1 #LandoNorris #MaxVerstappen #F12026 #BahrainTesting #Formula1

Nigel Mansell has sounded an early warning on F1’s

Nigel Mansell has sounded an early warning on F1’s 2026 reset: the new 50/50 split between electric and combustion power can’t turn racing into battery conservation. His fear is simple and visual — drivers lifting mid-lap, even in qualifying, because the numbers demand harvesting, not because they’re missing grip. For Mansell, the FIA’s priority is making sure it still looks and feels like flat-out racing.

Energy management is already the headline as the season opens, with new boost and overtake tools set to shape how battles unfold. Lando Norris expects more “yo-yoing” and chaos from mismatched deployment, while George Russell points to tiny harvesting gains becoming decisive. Mansell also backs Lewis Hamilton to bounce back at Ferrari if the car is right, and tips a three-team fight with Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari in the mix. The tech may change everything, but the spectacle can’t afford to look hesitant.

#F1 #Formula1 #NigelMansell #F12026 #LewisHamilton #LandoNorris

Mercedes has rolled into the first 2026 pre-season

Mercedes has rolled into the first 2026 pre-season test with a storm brewing around one word in the new power-unit rules: “ambient”. The compression ratio is capped at 16:1 when measured in ambient conditions, but paddock talk claims Mercedes has found a way for that figure to effectively climb once the engine is up to temperature, with rivals floating numbers as high as 18:1 and a potentially meaningful performance gain.

Ferrari, Audi, Honda and Red Bull Powertrains are pushing for a rewrite or new measurement method to close any “hot” advantage, and a supermajority vote could force a change regardless of Mercedes’ stance. Toto Wolff, meanwhile, has turned the spotlight elsewhere by calling Red Bull-Ford the early benchmark and even suggesting their energy deployment looks “a second a lap” better over consecutive runs — comments widely read as classic narrative management as F1’s first big 2026 governance fight takes shape.

#F1 #Mercedes #PowerUnit #2026Regulations #PreSeasonTesting #FIA

Charles Leclerc set the pace on Day 2 in Bahrain a

Charles Leclerc set the pace on Day 2 in Bahrain and nobody found a way past it. His 1:34.273 from the cooler morning session survived an afternoon defined by five red flags and broken-up run plans, while Ferrari quietly focused on detail work rather than theatrics, including more flow-vis checks as it kept Leclerc in the SF-26 all day.

Behind the headline time, the paddock’s mood was shaped by reliability and early trends: Mercedes lost most of the morning to an engine issue, Red Bull had a hydraulic leak that wiped out Isack Hadjar’s first session, and Aston Martin kept logging laps but sounded blunt about its deficit. The other talking point was Red Bull’s apparent Turn 1 advantage, with rivals already noting a consistent gain there. Add in Alpine’s late stoppage, Norris running dirty-air drills, and a few off-track moments, and it was a day of learning—just rarely uninterrupted.

#F1 #PreSeasonTesting #BahrainGP #Ferrari #RedBullRacing #MercedesAMG

Aston Martin’s AMR26 looks the part, but Lance Str

Aston Martin’s AMR26 looks the part, but Lance Stroll’s Bahrain verdict was brutally clear: the car is around four to four-and-a-half seconds off the front and needs “four seconds of performance” to get into the fight. He pointed to a mix of engine, balance and grip issues, with braking and downshifts still “not great” as the new Honda power unit characteristics feed into the handling.

The bigger worry is time. A disrupted Barcelona test left Aston short on mileage, and Bahrain hasn’t been the clean reset they needed, with the gap on the timesheets underlining how much baseline work is still missing. Stroll kept it matter-of-fact, leaning on upgrades and steady progress rather than miracles before Melbourne, while Honda has also played down expectations despite insisting nothing is terminal.

#F1 #AstonMartin #BahrainTest #LanceStroll #HondaF1 #AMR26

Adrian Newey has cut through the politeness around

Adrian Newey has cut through the politeness around F1’s latest 2026 flashpoint, admitting “I’m biased” as the sport argues over a compression-ratio rule that could shape the new power-unit era before it starts. The regulations cap geometric compression at 16:1 when measured at ambient temperature, but rivals believe Mercedes has found a way to achieve an effective 18:1 in real operating conditions.

Ferrari, Honda, Audi and Red Bull Powertrains want the policing changed to reflect how the engine behaves when hot, either via sensors on track or checks at operating temperature. Mercedes, led by Toto Wolff, insists it’s played it straight with the FIA kept closely informed, warning against moving the goalposts after designs are locked in — with customers McLaren, Williams and Alpine caught in the fallout. With a supermajority vote possible among manufacturers, FIA and FOM, this is heading toward Melbourne with politics firmly ahead of the racing.

#F1 #Formula1 #2026F1 #MercedesF1 #FIA #PowerUnit

Williams has locked in a multi-year partnership wi

Williams has locked in a multi-year partnership with Estrella Galicia 0,0 from the start of the 2026 season, expanding the brewer’s long-time support of Carlos Sainz into a full team deal. The branding will appear on the FW48 (including halo and rear wing endplates), in Williams hospitality at European rounds, and on the helmets of both Sainz and Alex Albon, with extra placements on Sainz’s design reflecting how closely the relationship remains tied to the Spaniard.

The move lands after Williams’ one-season Santander stint ended, with Barclays set as the team’s banking partner for 2026. With an all-new rules era, a new Madrid race and two Spanish rounds on the calendar, the timing is no accident: Williams secures continuity around a marquee signing, while Estrella Galicia gains the scale of a team platform. Santander, meanwhile, stays in F1 via race sponsorship at eight events, including both Spanish GPs and all three US races.

#F1 #WilliamsRacing #CarlosSainz #AlexAlbon #EstrellaGalicia00 #F12026

Ferrari opened Thursday morning in Bahrain exactly

Ferrari opened Thursday morning in Bahrain exactly how it wants to start this new 2026 era: quick, tidy and productive. Charles Leclerc topped the session with a 1:34.273, 0.511s clear of Lando Norris, while McLaren quietly impressed too by pairing pace with the most mileage (64 laps) as teams focus on learning these new cars as much as chasing headline times.

Further back, Pierre Gasly put Alpine third ahead of Oliver Bearman’s Haas and Alex Albon’s Williams, with Audi a touch lighter on running. The big talking points, though, were the interruptions: Mercedes lost almost the entire morning to a power unit issue for Kimi Antonelli (3 laps), while Red Bull’s hydraulic leak limited Isack Hadjar to a single late lap. After two mornings, Bahrain is already making reliability a performance metric of its own.

#F1 #BahrainTesting #Ferrari #McLaren #RedBullRacing #MercedesAMG

Ferrari topped Bahrain testing’s second morning wi

Ferrari topped Bahrain testing’s second morning with Charles Leclerc, but the bigger headline was mileage. The SF26 looked settled enough to run hard and often: Leclerc set a 1:34.273 and logged 62 laps, while Lando Norris kept McLaren close on pure productivity too with 64 laps and a 1:34.784. In a fresh regs cycle, the early winners are the teams banking clean running, not just chasing one-off times.

The contrast was brutal for two heavyweights. Red Bull lost almost the entire session to a hydraulic leak and only managed a late installation lap for Isack Hadjar, while Mercedes saw Kimi Antonelli stopped after three laps by an engine issue. Elsewhere, Alpine, Haas and Williams quietly racked up full programmes, Cadillac recovered well from an early throttle problem, and Aston Martin continued the steady integration work with its new Honda power unit.

#F1 #BahrainTest #Ferrari #McLaren #RedBullRacing #MercedesF1

Toto Wolff rarely hands out public praise without

Toto Wolff rarely hands out public praise without a reason, but Bahrain testing has forced his clearest verdict yet: Red Bull’s 2026 package is the benchmark right now. Despite a Mercedes-powered McLaren topping day one, Wolff pointed to Red Bull’s straight-line performance and, crucially, its energy deployment as the standout — claiming it’s worth around a second a lap when repeated over consecutive laps.

Max Verstappen backed it up with 136 trouble-free laps, underlining the reliability and maturity of Red Bull Powertrains’ first on-track power unit, now in its sixth iteration and heading for FIA homologation. With Ford in the mix and a programme years in the making, Red Bull already looks like a composed manufacturer operation — and when asked if Mercedes can match it, Wolff’s answer was blunt: “Today, no.”

#F1 #RedBullRacing #MercedesAMG #BahrainTesting #Verstappen #2026Regulations

Lewis Hamilton has delivered one of the first big

Lewis Hamilton has delivered one of the first big talking points of the 2026 era in Bahrain: F1 risks disappearing into its own complexity. With the new rules now on track — revised chassis and power units, and hybrids supplying 50% of total output — energy harvest and deployment sit closer to the heart of performance than ever, bringing software-led decisions that can be tough to translate for viewers.

Hamilton says the challenge behind the wheel may be manageable, but the concept is “ridiculously complex” for fans, especially with systems that learn a driver’s style and can be thrown off by a lock-up or running wide. For Ferrari, day one was about groundwork rather than fireworks: Leclerc and Hamilton logged 132 laps in a reliable run, with Leclerc third and Hamilton seventh. The mileage matters, but so does the story staying legible.

#F1 #F12026 #LewisHamilton #Ferrari #BahrainTesting #Formula1

Mark Webber won’t be a constant trackside presence

Mark Webber won’t be a constant trackside presence around Oscar Piastri in 2026, stepping back from the week-to-week paddock grind to focus more on the commercial and contractual side of Piastri’s programme. He isn’t leaving management duties with Ann Neal, but he’s expected to attend only select races across the 24-round season.

In his place at most grands prix will be a familiar ally: Pedro Matos, the race engineer who worked with Piastri during his ruthlessly efficient 2021 F2 title run. With Piastri coming off a 2025 campaign where he matched Lando Norris for wins but faded late as Norris took the championship, the reshuffle looks like a targeted upgrade to his weekend operation—adding trusted trackside support while keeping Webber’s experience in the background and maintaining continuity with sports psychologist Emma Murray.

#F1 #OscarPiastri #McLaren #MarkWebber #Formula1 #MotorsportNews

F1’s 2026 power unit rules are heading for a high-

F1’s 2026 power unit rules are heading for a high-stakes vote as homologation looms on March 1, with Mercedes at the centre of an argument over how compression ratio should be measured. The regs cap the geometric ratio at 16.0, but leave the test method to each manufacturer “at ambient temperature” for FIA approval. Rival paddock voices believe Mercedes HPP and Red Bull Powertrains may have used that wording to pass the ambient check while gaining a higher effective ratio when the engine runs hot, prompting calls for a new, hot-temperature compliance test.

The FIA says the PU Advisory Committee is discussing alignment on hot testing, and Red Bull is now understood to have joined Ferrari, Audi and Honda in pushing for it. With a supermajority (four of five PU makers) plus FIA and F1 approval, a late change could still be forced through—risking either protests and a season under a cloud if nothing changes, or a rushed new requirement that hits designs already locked in. Mercedes insists it stayed close to the FIA, believes it’s legal, and Toto Wolff says there’s no plan to sue—yet the process is already under strain before 2026 even arrives.

#F1 #Mercedes #F12026 #PowerUnit #FIA #Formula1

Lando Norris wasted no time stamping his authority

Lando Norris wasted no time stamping his authority on F1’s new 2026 era, topping day one of the first official pre-season test in Bahrain. The reigning champion’s late 1:34.669 put McLaren P1, edging Max Verstappen by 0.129s after Red Bull had led much of the day and briefly regained the upper hand with a 1:34.830.

Behind them, Charles Leclerc ended third after taking over from Lewis Hamilton post-lunch, with Esteban Ocon an eye-catching fourth for Haas and Oscar Piastri keeping a second McLaren in the top five from the morning. Testing caveats remain, but the Norris-Verstappen rhythm is already back, amid red flags and reliability notes: Hulkenberg stopped on track for Audi, Aston Martin investigated a PU “data anomaly,” Racing Bulls ended early with a fluid leak, and Mercedes managed Antonelli’s reduced running while addressing a set-up issue.

#F1 #BahrainTest #LandoNorris #MaxVerstappen #McLaren #F12026

Day one in Bahrain didn’t deliver answers so much

Day one in Bahrain didn’t deliver answers so much as a new pecking order of clues — and McLaren made the clearest statement. Lando Norris topped the opening times with a tidy 1:34.669 and 50 laps, the kind of clean, caveat-free headline that lands early. Oscar Piastri backed it up in P5 after his morning run, giving McLaren a drama-free, quietly authoritative start.

Red Bull took the other route: Max Verstappen piled on a class-leading 129 laps and finished just 0.129s off, showing a team more interested in executing the plan than chasing day-one glory. Ferrari began in pursuit mode — Charles Leclerc P3, Lewis Hamilton P7 — while Esteban Ocon’s P4 for Haas turned heads as an early “interesting” marker. Mercedes sat in the mix without threatening the top, and red flags for Alpine (Colapinto) and Audi (Hulkenberg) underlined how costly interruptions are when every test hour matters.

#F1 #BahrainTesting #McLaren #RedBullRacing #Ferrari #Formula1Testing

F1’s second pre-season test of 2026 begins in Bahr

F1’s second pre-season test of 2026 begins in Bahrain on 11 February, but the first real look at the new-era cars comes with the doors half closed. Live broadcast access remains limited: local rights-holders can only show the final hour of running on each of the three days, plus a post-session highlights show, leaving the most revealing long stints largely out of sight.

All 10 teams are expected to be there after Williams missed the opening days in Barcelona, and Bahrain’s abrasive layout should stress new packages and tyre understanding early. Just remember what testing always is: programmes, fuel loads, masked engine modes and correlation work, where the cleanest day often matters more than the quickest lap. Full coverage returns for the final test on 18–20 February, when the picture finally opens up.

#F1 #BahrainTest #F12026 #PreSeasonTesting #Formula1 #Motorsport

Mercedes is staring down a late-rule headache on i

Mercedes is staring down a late-rule headache on its 2026 power unit as rivals push the FIA to tighten how the new compression-ratio limit is checked, just days before March 1 homologation locks designs in. The rule’s figure has already dropped from 18:1 to 16:1, and it’s currently defined by an ambient-temperature measurement. Now Honda, Audi and Ferrari are understood to be aligned with Red Bull Powertrains in lobbying for a “hot” running measurement that could effectively rewrite the practical limit.

The underlying claim is that Mercedes can meet the ambient test yet run a higher effective compression ratio once up to temperature, turning this into a fight over interpretation rather than outright legality. Toto Wolff says Mercedes won’t go legal even if the FIA backs a late clarification or change, but admits the timing could be damaging for Mercedes and its customer teams if a new method is voted through and can’t be met in time. The next few days are political as much as technical, with votes — not private assurances — set to decide who’s caught out.

#F1 #MercedesF1 #FIA #F12026 #PowerUnit #MotorsportNews

Lewis Hamilton arrived in Bahrain focused on Ferra

Lewis Hamilton arrived in Bahrain focused on Ferrari’s new car and the shifting rules landscape, but ended up flagging a more basic concern: stability on the radio. He confirmed Carlo Santi, who’s been in his ear during testing, is only a short-term fix and will stay for “a few races” before Ferrari switches again.

After a difficult 2025 learning curve and a public lack of chemistry with Riccardo Adami, another early-season engineer change is, in Hamilton’s words, “detrimental” — the kind of quiet disruption that can cost clarity, confidence and lap time when everyone’s already adapting. Ferrari hasn’t named a long-term replacement, with paddock speculation circling Cedric Michel-Grosjean, but the bigger issue is what the shuffle says about team organisation at a moment when every early point and every clean reference matters.

#F1 #LewisHamilton #Ferrari #BahrainTesting #ScuderiaFerrari #Formula1

New rules, familiar headline: Max Verstappen led t

New rules, familiar headline: Max Verstappen led the opening morning of 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain, putting Red Bull on top with a 1:35.433. Oscar Piastri was a close second for McLaren (+0.169s), with George Russell third for Mercedes ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari test morning in fourth.

As ever, the stopwatch came with caveats, but mileage told its own story. Carlos Sainz topped the lap count with 77 for Williams, while rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed with 75 clean laps for Racing Bulls. Haas enjoyed a productive run in fifth with Esteban Ocon, Cadillac’s first official test ended solidly with Valtteri Bottas ninth, and Audi logged steady running with Gabriel Bortoleto in a B-spec car. Aston Martin had a quieter start, and Alpine’s morning was disrupted by a stoppage for Franco Colapinto that brought out the only red flag and limited his running.

#F1 #BahrainTest #MaxVerstappen #RedBullRacing #LewisHamilton #2026Season

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