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

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

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

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.

P
DRIVER
TEAM
Laps
Time (day)
Tires

1
Antonelli
Mercedes
94
1’33″669 (J3)
C3

2
Russell
Mercedes
188
1’33″918 (J3)
C3

3
Hamilton
Ferrari
202
1’34″209 (D3)
C3

4
Leclerc
Ferrari
219
1’34″273 (D2)
C3

5
Piastri
McLaren
215
1’34″549 (D3)
C3

6
Norris
McLaren
207
1’34″669 (D1)
C2

7
Verstappen
Red Bull
197
1’34″798 (D1)
C3

8
Bearman
Haas
200
1’35″394 (D2)
C3

9
Hadjar
Red Bull
146
1’35″561 (D2)
C3

10
Ocon
Haas
190
1’35″578 (D1)
C3

11
Colapinto
Alpine
172
1’35″806 (D3)
C3

12
Hülkenberg
Audi
178
1’36″291 (J3)
C3

13
Bortoleto
Audi
176
1’36″670 (Day 2)
C3

14
Gasly
Alpine
146
1’36″723 (D2)
C3

15
Albon
Williams
208
1’36″793 (D3)
C3

16
Lawson
Racing Bulls
169
1’36″808 (D3)
C3

17
Bottas
Cadillac
153
1’36″824 (D2)
C3

18
Sainz
Williams
214
1’37″186 (J3)
C2

19
Pérez
Cadillac
167
1’37″365 (J3)
C3

20
Lindblad
Racing Bulls
158
1’37″470 (D2)
C3

21
Stroll
Aston Martin
108
1’38″165 (D3)
C3

22
Alonso
Aston Martin
98
1’38″248 (D2)
C3

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.

Team
Engine
Laps
s (Bahrain 1)
KM
(Bahrain 1)

Total KM
(Bahrain 1 + Barcelona)

McLaren
Mercedes
422
2284
3639

Williams
Mercedes
422
2284
2284

Ferrari
Ferrari
421
2279
4328

Haas
Ferrari
390
2111
3932

Audi
Audi
354
1916
3010

Red Bull
Red Bull Ford
343
1856
3267

Racing Bulls
Red Bull Ford
327
1770
3255

Cadillac
Ferrari
320
1732
2496

Alpine
Mercedes
318
1721
3346

Mercedes
Mercedes
282
1526
3864

Aston
Honda
206
1115
1422

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

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

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.

Engine manufacturer
Laps

KM

(Bahrain 1)

Average KM per team (Bahrain 1)
Total KM
(Bahrain 1 + Barcelona)

Mercedes
1,444
7815
1954
13,133

Ferrari
1131
6121
2040
10,736

Red Bull Ford
670
3,626
1,813
6,523

Audi
354
1916
1916
3010

Honda
206
1115
1115
1422

Red flags at the Bahrain tests 1

Car
Driver
Day
Time
Reason

Alpine
Colapinto
Wednesday
9:37am
Unknown

Audi
Hülkenberg
Wednesday
2:32pm
Unknown

Cadillac
Pérez
Thursday
8:10am
Unknown

–

–
Thursday
11:52am
FIA test

–
–
Thursday
2:35 pm
Debris

Alpine
Gasly
Thursday
2:53 pm
Unknown

–
–
Thursday
4:53 pm
FIA test

–
–
Thursday
5:00 pm
FIA Test

Cadillac
Bottas
Friday
8:50am
Cooling

 Ferrari
Hamilton
Friday
4:49 pm
Running out of gas

 –
–
Friday
4:55 pm
FIA test

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