Who will be the quickest in 2026? F1’s updated regulations are creating uncertainty in the rankings and among the drivers.

The new era of Formula 1 was bound to generate inquiries, but the initial week of substantial testing has prompted even more than anticipated. Preseason testing in Bahrain has provided glimpses of performance and a wealth of data, yet it has not yielded definitive insights into how the sport’s new dynamics are truly developing.

On the circuit, the timing sheets have conveyed a fluctuating narrative, with various teams appearing competitive at different intervals and no distinct standard emerging amid a scenario of uncertainty.

– F1 testing: Who’s recorded the quickest times and most laps

Off the track, the ambiguity has been echoed by dissatisfied drivers and rising tensions behind the scenes. Technical interpretations, competitive mistrust, and safety issues have all emerged as the paddock seeks to clarify the limits of the new regulations. With one more test on the horizon, ESPN analyzes an intriguing three days in Sakhir.

Who’s fastest?

Leading lap times during preseason testing can often be deceptive, but this year’s competitive landscape has become even more convoluted due to new power unit regulations and a growing element of politics involved.

When asked about the fastest package, Mercedes points to Red Bull, while Red Bull claims they are fourth behind Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren.

Ferrari identifies Red Bull and Mercedes as the teams ahead of them, while reigning champions McLaren believe all three of their mentioned competitors hold the advantage.

On paper, the latest generation of F1 power units is impressive, capable of generating three times the electrical power of their predecessors and capturing twice as much energy over a lap. However, in practice, this means they often operate with limited energy throughout a lap, making it clear that simply pushing to the limit does not guarantee the fastest lap time, as the battery will soon run low.

“It’s incredibly complex,” remarked seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. “I attended a meeting recently where they explained it to us — it feels like you need a degree to fully grasp it.”

One individual in the paddock who certainly possesses the expertise to navigate these challenges is Williams team principal James Vowles, who, like the best engineers, managed to articulate it succinctly.

“Consider it this way,” he stated, “in one braking zone, you can almost fully charge the battery, but in half a straight, you can drain the entire battery.”

Consequently, it is no surprise that “energy management” emerged as the primary topic of discussion in Bahrain this week. In simple terms, the more efficiently you can gather energy during braking and cornering, the more you can utilize on the straights, resulting in a quicker lap time.

This means drivers may no longer be pushing to the limit in corners, knowing that sacrificing some lap time there could yield benefits on the straights. Determining the optimal balance for this equation, particularly for a single flying lap, has proven to be a steep learning curve for teams this week, leading to a rapidly changing understanding of who is truly the fastest.

Mercedes asserts that Red Bull, utilizing its own power unit for the first time, has discovered a method to deploy more energy on certain straights than any other team, with both team principal Toto Wolff and George Russell claiming that the advantage their rivals have found could be worth as much as a second per lap.

“They’re not just a small step ahead,” Russell noted. “You’re talking about a difference of half a second to a second in deployment over the course of a lap, so it’s quite alarming to witness that gap.”

McLaren’s Lando Norris, whose car is also powered by a Mercedes engine, added: “When someone has a deployment advantage, that’s a significant bit of lap time to have in your favor. Without effort, you can simply go faster.”

However, when asked if he believes his team is the benchmark, Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache redirects the focus back to his competitors.

“We are not the benchmark, for sure,” he stated. “We clearly see the top three teams as Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. They are ahead of us based on our analysis, and we are currently behind.

“That is our current assessment. It is challenging to comment on the others because the fuel levels they run and the power levels they utilize are difficult to ascertain, but that is our analysis, and it could be incorrect.”

Beyond the top four teams, and emphasizing the notion that the competitive landscape is continually shifting, Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen indicated that his data has shown various power unit manufacturers appearing strongest on almost a daily basis.

“Honestly, if you had asked me that in Barcelona [during the first test], I would have likely said Mercedes is significantly ahead of the rest. If you had asked me on Wednesday [in Bahrain], I would have probably said Red Bull is the benchmark. If you had asked me yesterday [Thursday], I would have said ‘wow, you should see Ferrari’s long run.’

Nielsen also emphasized that all teams will have gained insights from one another throughout the week by analyzing different strategies for energy deployment around the lap and will likely converge towards the most effective solutions as a result.

“I mean, we’re all shameless imitators,” he remarked. “We observe anything anyone else does on the track or off the track, and if we find it appealing, we will adopt it. We’re all studying their speeds, cornering speeds, and energy deployment strategies. We’re all doing it to each other.”

When combining these varied approaches to energy deployment with the usual testing caveats, such as fuel loads and varying track conditions, attempting to derive any meaningful conclusions from the lap times is somewhat futile. Some long-run data from Friday suggested that Mercedes and Ferrari had an advantage over McLaren, but this is merely a small snapshot of a broader picture that is likely to change again when testing resumes in Bahrain next week.

Is it still F1?

If the new regulations are proving perplexing for observers, the sentiments from within the cockpits are more straightforward. Four-time champion Max Verstappen has never been one to hold back his opinions and was candid when addressing the media on Thursday.

“As a pure driver, I relish driving at full throttle,” he stated. “And at the moment, you cannot drive like that. There’s a lot happening.

“Much of what you do as a driver, in terms of inputs, has a significant impact on the energy aspect. For me, that’s simply not Formula 1.

“Perhaps it would be better to drive in Formula E, right? Because that’s entirely focused on energy efficiency and management. That’s their core principle.

“From a driving perspective, it’s not as enjoyable.”

Conversely, Norris, possibly responding to Verstappen’s critical remarks, emphasized the challenge posed by the new regulations.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s an enjoyable challenge for the engineers and drivers,” Norris stated. “It’s different; you have to approach it in a new way and comprehend things differently and manage aspects differently.

“But you still get to drive cars, travel the world, and have a lot of fun. So, there’s nothing to complain about.”

While not all drivers aligned with the extremes presented by Norris and Verstappen, they all seemed to agree that the 2026 regulations were indeed “different.” Just from observing trackside, there are two notable changes to driving style that are both visible and audible. Some drivers (notably those without Ferrari engines) are shifting to first gear in Bahrain’s three slowest corners — Turn 1, 8, and 10.

By engaging first gear, the engine revs significantly higher than it would in second or third, aiding in battery charging while also maintaining the turbo at a higher speed to provide optimal boost pressure upon exiting the corner and avoiding a phenomenon known as turbo-lag.

“I think the primary challenge we face is using very low gears in corners. For instance, here in Bahrain, the first corner is typically a third gear corner,” Russell explained. “In the previous generation, we now have to use first gear to keep the engine revs high and maintain turbo spin. This is probably the most frustrating aspect and isn’t very intuitive.

“Imagine driving to the supermarket and reaching a roundabout, where you would normally use third gear to navigate it, but suddenly someone tells you to switch to first gear — everything just revs up. For that reason, you wouldn’t approach the roundabout in first gear if you’re driving at a sensible speed, but this is similar; the car and engine are designed to navigate this corner in third gear, yet due to the turbo and boost, you must keep the engine revs high, necessitating first gear. The car isn’t really designed for that, but we’re adapting.”

Another evident change is the reduced speeds through fast corners. In some instances, there is little to gain by deploying battery power in high-speed corners, making it more logical to ease off slightly.

Fernando Alonso, who has been competing in Bahrain since its debut on the calendar in 2004, noted that the approach to the high-speed Turn 12 has changed from the cockpit of his Aston Martin.

“Historically, Turn 12 has been a very challenging corner here in Bahrain,” he remarked. “Previously, you would select your downforce level to navigate Turn 12 flat out, removing downforce until you could take it flat with new tires.

“Driver skill was the decisive factor for achieving fast lap times.

“Now, in Turn 12, we are approximately 50 kph slower because we don’t want to waste energy there and prefer to conserve it for the straights. Instead of approaching Turn 12 at 260 kph, we are now at 200 kph — even our chef [in Aston Martin’s hospitality] could drive the car through Turn 12 at that speed. However, you don’t want to waste energy because you need it for the straights.

“I understand Max’s comments because, as a driver, you would like to differentiate yourself in the corners, driving those 5 kph faster than others, but now you are constrained by how much energy your engine will have for the next straight.”

It should be noted that telemetry data indicated Alonso was carrying more speed into Turn 12 than his competitors and then needed to lift the throttle while others maintained their speed, but the point about slower speeds through the fastest corners remains valid.

Power politics

The introduction of the new regulations has led to a considerable amount of suspicion among teams regarding their rivals’ actions. As the test approached, Mercedes’ interpretation of the rules concerning the engine’s compression ratio became a significant topic, and by the end of the three days, no resolution was reached.

The controversy revolves around the reduction of the compression ratio from 18:1 in 2025 to 16:1 this year to facilitate competition among new power unit manufacturers in the sport.

The regulations stipulate that the compression ratio will be assessed at ambient temperatures, and it appears Mercedes has discovered a method to comply with the test when the engine is cold while achieving a higher compression ratio — and thus more power output — when the engine is hot.

The FIA has expressed its intention to “resolve” the issue before the season’s first race to prevent the matter from being escalated to the stewards or settled in court. One potential solution is to modify the rules so that the 16:1 compression ratio limit explicitly applies when the engine is hot, but implementing this change would require the backing of the FIA, FOM, and all of Mercedes’ power unit competitors.

There is a prevailing sentiment among rivals that Mercedes has been concealing its true performance during testing to avoid the FIA and FOM siding against the German manufacturer.

“Mercedes is showcasing some very impressive capabilities at times, but I would argue they are concealing much more,” Charles Leclerc stated on Friday. “I would expect them to be a bit ahead of us.”

Verstappen took a more direct jab at Wolff’s claim that Red Bull has the benchmark power unit.

“For me personally, it feels more like diversion tactics,” Verstappen remarked. “But that’s fine. I mean, I focus on what we’re doing here with the team. Because honestly, there’s still so much for us to learn. This new ruleset is so intricate that we just want to complete our laps and proceed from there, to be honest.”

Wolff maintains that any advantage is only worth “a couple” of horsepower and asserts that the FIA was kept informed throughout the engine’s development. A change to the regulations must be enacted before the impending engine homologation deadline of March 1, and it remains uncertain what implications this would have for Mercedes and its three engine customers, McLaren, Alpine, and Williams.

Another topic under discussion ahead of the season opener in Australia pertains to race starts. Following multiple practice starts by drivers this week in Bahrain, it became evident how challenging it will be to achieve a clean getaway using the new power units.

Until the car reaches 50 km/h, the regulations dictate that the power unit cannot utilize any of its electrical boost, meaning the initial launch relies solely on the V6 turbo engine. Under the previous regulations, an element of the power unit’s hybrid system, known as the MGU-H, was employed to spool the turbo and provide optimal boost pressure for the start, but the MGU-H was eliminated as part of this year’s power unit changes.

Consequently, the V6 engine now requires revving in advance to build up boost pressure and minimize a common issue in turbocharged engines known as turbo-lag. During practice starts in Bahrain, cars were observed revving hard for over ten seconds to generate turbo boost before finally launching.

There is a concern that the current start procedure — which involves five red lights illuminated at one-second intervals before all five are extinguished and the race commences — may not allow sufficient time for drivers at the back of the grid to prepare their turbo for a clean start.

The worry is that significant variations in start performance across the grid could lead to collisions.

“We need to ensure that the race start procedure enables all cars to have their power units ready to go because the grid is not the place where you want cars to struggle to take off,” McLaren boss Andrea Stella stated.

“This is of greater importance than any competitive interest. I believe all teams and the FIA should act responsibly regarding what is necessary for the race start procedure. I’m considering the timings, for example, the timing of the lights, the timing before the lights.

“They need to be appropriately set to ensure that, first and foremost, it’s a safe phase of the race.”

The situation is further complicated as Ferrari is believed to have opted for a smaller turbocharger to mitigate turbo-lag.

A report by The Race indicates that the Italian team initially raised the issue but was not heeded by its rivals and has since blocked a more recent attempt to alter the start procedure.

Stella also expressed concerns about overtaking and the potential for collisions caused by drivers lifting and coasting along straights to gather energy. He claims that changes to the regulations to address such issues are “simple,” although those changes would likely focus on the rules surrounding energy harvesting and deployment, which some teams are evidently managing more effectively than others. All three concerns raised by Stella are expected to be discussed at next week’s F1 Commission meeting on Wednesday.

In summary, far more will be at stake during the final preseason test than merely determining which team has the fastest car.

Source: espn.com