5 Things We Learned From F1 Testing

Testing for the 2026 Formula 1 season is officially done and dusted. With teams getting hundreds of laps in over the past few weeks, all that's left is to wait until the opening weekend in Australia.

Though testing does not provide a concrete picture of what fans can expect in terms of true pace, things can definitely be taken away after seeing the cars on track. I compiled what I believe to be the 5 biggest takeaways, regardless of whether or not the pecking order is set.

So, with that, let's get into it!

Ferrari Look Very Strong

Let's start off with an interesting surprise as a result of testing; Ferrari won testing in my eyes. That may sound crazy, I know, but Ferrari showed that their car could be extremely strong to start the season. The reliability of the car looks among the best of the pack, with the team driving the 3rd most laps in Bahrain and 2nd most in Barcelona.

Something that was truly impressive was the pace they showed. Of course, pace cannot be truly determined when other teams may be hiding their own, but Ferrari put the world on notice with their performance during the 3rd day of the second Bahrain testing session. Leclerc was atop the field by almost a second, which no one expected during this period.

On top of all this, Ferrari seems to have a massive advantage during race-start procedures. We will get more into what that looks like later on, but no one has been getting off the line remotely to the level of Ferrari thus far.

What stood out most to me, though, was the reactions of the drivers. You could see all throughout testing the smile Charles Leclerc was trying to hide. It seems to me the look of someone who knows the team found something but cannot express it just yet. Meanwhile, you have Lewis Hamilton saying this is the best he's felt in years.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, but regardless, Ferrari fans have something to be excited about. I don't think this should make them the favorites just yet, but all signs are pointing in encouraging directions.

Haas May be Midfield Favorites

Amongst all the chaos between the teams we know to be among the midfield, Haas has stood out in the most positive way. They seem to be the only team expected to be a midfield competitor that is exactly where they need to be. No rumblings of adjustment struggles to the new regulations, no pace concerns, and no reliability issues. For a team looking for consistency, this is about as good a sign as you can get heading into a season with so much unknown.

This has easily been the best pre-season Haas has had since entering the sport. They have quietly gone about their business and seem to have put together a very solid car. Plus, with the Ferrari engine in the back, it has only helped them in terms of reliability and practice race starts thus far. With Alpine and VCARB the only other midfield competitors, Haas could be in for a surprising season in the best way.

Aston Martin is in Major Trouble

I don't think it is possible for a team to have as bad a start to a season as Aston Martin is having right now. Everything, yes everything, has gone wrong. Whether it be the car malfunctioning, spin-outs, wheel lock-ups, reliability issues, or general pace, everything that the drivers have said about the car has been true. I mean, they are at least four seconds off the pace of the frontrunners, while also completing the fewest number of laps by a significant margin. For reference, their 394 total laps across all of testing is 351 laps fewer than the team ahead of them with the 10th most laps. Yikes.

With rumors flying now that the team may not be ready to drive in Melbourne, it is the icing on the cake for what could be one of the biggest disasters the sport has seen in a long time. All three phases (aerodynamics, engine reliability, and overall pace) have looked the worst on the grid by far. Even Cadillac, which is a brand new team, has looked quicker than them, and Cadillac is not even close to the midfield teams.

One can only hope Aston Martin can find a way to turn things around as the season progresses, but it may be a while until they do. Testing may not tell us a lot about the pecking order, but you can be sure Aston Martin will struggle mightily from what we've seen.

Energy Management has been Brutal

From what we have seen out of testing, the teams have already started to struggle when trying to manage the energy within the engine. With these new regulations, each car's engine is now split 50-50 between fuel and energy power, making it an entirely different ballgame when it comes to managing the car. Drivers have complained that they have not been able to take corners as fast as previous years due to the fact that if they do, the car's battery will drain too quickly. Thus, corners have been taken slower in order to build up the battery to deploy on the straights.

The active aero, more specifically the new integration of front and rear wing movement, has been interesting to say the least. We have seen teams present new innovations when in overtake mode, such as Alpine's flat front wing or Ferrari's revolving rear wing.

Yet, it has not seemed to help the sport's efforts to increase overtaking opportunities. Multiple drivers have come out and expressed their concerns about this, explaining that with the car so reliant on battery deployment rather than aerodynamics, it has been difficult to overtake. Granted, drivers haven't had the opportunity to truly attempt this in a live car during testing, but it is something to take note of.

The biggest concern, however, has been the race start procedure. Since it takes drivers so long to charge up their battery, the FIA has now allowed teams two formation laps prior to the race, with a 5-second revving period before the five red lights appear. Though it might not concern the fan, this is a major red flag for the drivers and only adds to the balance issue each car is having.

Sandbagging has Caused the Fronrunners to be too Close to Call

For those who do not know what sandbagging in F1 is, basically, it is a term used when teams are intentionally hiding their true pace while also purposefully hyping up their rivals in order to take pressure off their own team. All four teams who seem to be the front runners (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren) have done their fair share of this, resulting in an extremely clouded and unpredictable pecking order at the top.

Based on what the teams and reports have said, Mercedes were the favorites heading in. The belief is that they are hiding their true pace significantly, which has allowed the other teams to come into the fold and show what they have. Whether or not that is true is unknown, but the flashes that Mercedes has shown thus far make it clear they are hiding something.

Ferrari seems to have a major advantage when it comes to race starts. We saw on multiple occasions both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton get an extreme jump off the line and make up multiple places in the practice starts. This is something only Ferrari-supplied teams have shown thus far, which makes things extremely interesting.

Red Bull seems to have gotten the most hype from rival teams. We have seen multiple reports and interviews where Ferrari and Mercedes believe Red Bull has a huge advantage in straight-line speed. This contradicts Red Bull's statements, which expressed their car may be a late bloomer in terms of competitiveness.

McLaren has sort of flown under the radar, but has shown they are very much in the fight with their pace and reliability. Powered by a Mercedes engine, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been right on the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari during testing, which was not completely expected heading into the preseason.

As you can see, so much has been said about each team. Is any of it true? Only time will tell, but it is clear each potential frontrunner has gone above and beyond to sandbag their way through testing.

Stay tuned for more F1 content, as much more preseason content will be heading your way!

I released an article (link below!) Where I explain everything you need to know about the 2026 season, so be sure to give that a look as well!

Be sure to check out fansonlysportz.com for more sports media content posted daily.

Also, be sure to check out and follow my socials @matthylen_, where I post all my articles!

Until next time!

-Matt Hylen