Ferrari won the preseason Formula 1 championship after testing in Bahrain was concluded, but they are definitely not the best as we are yet to see the true pace of every team, especially the top four.Mercedes have long been tipped to dominate with controversy surrounding their engine compression, while Red Bull are being talked up by rivals following their successful power unit debut.

McLaren have looked solid as well, with Ferrari impressing with reliability and some creative features on their SF-26, such as their trick moveable rear wing and their exhaust wing.

But the true picture of the 2026 F1 pecking order will emerge in Q3 of qualifying in Melbourne less than two weeks from now when all the teams will finally run their cars in anger with the sandbags off.

Former F1 driver Riccardo Patrese said: “Teams are holding back, of course, especially with all the furor around the Mercedes engine. Somebody is holding back, most likely those teams who think they are better than others so as not to show too much.

“But the final answer will come in Australia when we go to the first Grand Prix of the season. It will take maybe three or four races for things to settle down, then we will see who really is in front of everybody else.”

As for all the hype around Red Bull Racing, which is generated by their rivals, Patrese commented: “I read a comment from Carlos Sainz saying that the Red Bull engine is the best engine, far ahead of the others.

“I don’t know what he saw in testing in Bahrain to say that. But if this is the case, then Red Bull will have the best engine, probably a very good car with the very best driver.

“So, are they going to disappear into the lead? We don’t know for certain, but it’s impressive from Red Bull anyway, because they had Ford, and they had to start from the beginning, and here they are now,” the Italian concluded.

(Source: talkSPORT BET Slots Site)