Who dominated the 2026 F1 Bahrain test? Get the full breakdown of Red Bull Ford power, the Mercedes recovery, and Aston Martin struggles. See which teams lead the pack before the Australian Grand Prix.
Formula 1 First preseason Test Bahrain Winners Top Performers And All You Need to Know (Image Source:X)
The roar of the 2026 engines faded into the Bahrain desert, and honestly, nobody in the Formula 1 paddock had any idea what to expect next. Preseason testing is always a game as teams hide their real speed, run with heavy fuel, bluff, and keep secrets close. But after three days at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi circuit, you could actually see which teams looked sharp and who still had work to do.
The biggest show stopper in the first pre-test is Red Bull’s new Ford power unit. People had questions, but honestly, the engine put all doubts to rest. It ran flawlessly and delivered high speed. On the straights, the power unit just kept pushing, thanks to its impressive energy deployment. Other teams noticed.
Some engineers are already worried as Red Bull’s straight-line speed looks like a real problem for the competition, and it’s tough to see anyone catching up before the Australian Grand Prix.
Arguably, the biggest "Winner" surprise was Williams. After missing the first shake-up in Barcelona, the general expectation was that the British team would find it difficult. However, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon turned out to be the test workhorses, accumulating 422 laps. The car seems to be stable, balanced, and prepared for the midfield fight.
Sending it in Sakhir 💨
— Atlassian Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1) February 14, 2026
Alex hitting the track in Bahrain - see you next week for testing 2 🫡 pic.twitter.com/KgA9EUUZ2h
Cadillac's entry into the world of motorsports was quite spectacular as well. Setting up a new team in Formula 1 is a Herculean task; however, the American team performed like seasoned ones. They concentrated on race procedures and long runs, covering over 1700km. Their steady improvement indicates that they will not be the ones just filling up the grid for long.
Ferrari took a very controlled path and stuck to just one car for their test, which was a Spec A car, in order to get some baseline data. After running through 420 laps, Fred Vasseur is probably happy with the running reliability.
Purposely giving bad daps to Charles to see how long until he realises! 🤝😂 pic.twitter.com/lDXUjIzBgl
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) February 15, 2026
Mercedes, conversely, began with a tough time as their suspensions and power unit were causing issues. Nonetheless, they closed the testing in a winning style as Kimi Antonelli recorded the quickest lap on the final day.
Even though Antonelli did not run a lot of laps, competitors such as Charles Leclerc are of the opinion that Mercedes is 'concealing a huge amount' of performance.
Aston Martin was clearly the "Losers" of the week. Though the team put in a huge effort to have the car ready, it kept suffering from mechanical issues. To race, they only did 206 laps, which was the least amount of any team on the grid.
AMR26 in motion. pic.twitter.com/oR6AqZZ8jj
— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 14, 2026
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll appear to be at a disadvantage, with Stroll implying that their car might be a few seconds slower than those at the front.
