Sky F1 has confirmed that only the final hour of each day’s running will be broadcast live during this week’s second F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
It comes after PlanetF1.com revealed last month that the first Bahrain test was set to have limited broadcast coverage.
Sky F1 to show only final hour of each day’s running in Bahrain
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Formula 1’s pre-season schedule has been expanded to three tests in F1 2026 to allow teams to get up to speed with their brand-new cars before the opening race in Australia on March 8.
The first test of the winter – officially titled ‘Shakedown Week’ – took place last month at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The remaining two tests of pre-season will be held in Bahrain across February 11-13 and 18-20.
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After the Barcelona shakedown was held behind closed doors, it was hoped that full broadcast coverage would resume when testing returned to Bahrain this month.
However, PlanetF1.com reported on January 22 that the first Bahrain test was also in line for limited television coverage.
Sky F1 has confirmed that only the final hour of each day’s running will be shown live in addition to the broadcaster’s regular evening roundup shows.
It means Sky will only broadcast live for 60 minutes from 1500 UK time [1800 in Bahrain] on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
PlanetF1.com understands that full live coverage of testing will return for the final test in Bahrain later this month.
Unlike the Barcelona shakedown, the Bahrain test will be fully available to media and fans with PlanetF1.com reporting from on the ground in Sakhir.
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A behind-closed-doors test meant the media was faced with an unusual challenge for the Barcelona shakedown.
While some outlets travelled to Spain regardless, PlanetF1.com opted to respect the wishes of the organisers and cover the test from afar.
The daily live blog was a central part of our coverage, attracting a high number of visitors on each of the five days of testing.
The emergence of a publicly available live timing system meant we were able to cover the first morning of the test pretty much as normal.
When that avenue was closed off later that day, however, it made our jobs harder, leaving us to rely mostly on updates from the teams and local media.
To take one example, when images emerged online of Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi stopped on track on Day 1, PlanetF1.com swiftly received confirmation from the team that a “technical issue” had brought the R26 to a halt.
We were able to verify the unofficial laptimes from Barcelona within 30 minutes of the chequered flag on each of the five days of running.
Some teams like McLaren also gave us a helping hand by including their own position, best lap time and lap count in their end-of-day press releases.
Normal service will resume for the remaining two tests in Bahrain with PlanetF1.com bringing you all the news and reaction from the paddock in Sakhir.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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