These are the winners and losers of the final Bahrain winter test
F1 winter testing in Bahrain has come to an end, and while it is always difficult to know where everyone stands after pre-season, some teams impressed while others clearly have a lot of work to do. Let's take a look at the biggest winners and losers to come out of Bahrain during week two.
Winners: Mercedes
The Silver Arrows were called the big favourites for 2026 after the Barcelona test, and they’ll leave Sakhir with that label intact, but only just.
Mercedes topped both the timing charts and laps completed on the first two days of the final winter test, and their race simulations were also very impressive as George Russell’s average times on long runs edged out key rivals on Thursday - the general consensus in the paddock is that they and Ferrari are at the very front of the pecking order.
It has not been smooth sailing for Mercedes, however. Antonelli hit engine issues on Day 3, bringing out the red flag having only completed 49 laps in the morning, while the young Italian admitted that race starts are a "weak point" for the Brackley-based team on Friday.
Meanwhile, Toto Wolff accepted the FIA’s proposal of a mid-season change on how the 2026 cars' compression ratios will be measured - after pressure from rivals on a ‘trick’ Mercedes are believed to have discovered.
Overall, yes, Mercedes head into the 2026 season as favourites after a mostly clean Bahrain test, but that is far from ironclad, and they certainly don’t yet look like they’ve stolen a 2014-like march on their rivals.
Losers: Aston Martin
Things just went from bad to worse for Aston Martin during the second test in Bahrain.
It was two red flags in two days as Lance Stroll spun at Turn 11 on Wednesday after appearing to lose drive, before Fernando Alonso was brought to a halt at Turn 4 with more power issues on Thursday.
But the worst was still to come on Friday, as engine supplier Honda released a statement citing a “battery-related issue” that would limit their final day running, and Stroll completed just six laps across morning and afternoon sessions.
Confidence remains at Aston Martin that legendary aerodynamicist and new team principal Adrian Newey will eventually be able to turn things around, but with only 128 laps completed across the final Bahrain test, the Silverstone-based team have an awful lot of work to do.
Winners: Ferrari
Could it finally be Ferrari’s year? Well, the early signs are certainly positive as the Scuderia have turned heads in the paddock with strong reliability, impressive lap times, and fascinating technical innovations.
On Day 3, Charles Leclerc was on the ragged edge with his SF-26, and topped the timing charts with a 1:31.992, becoming the first driver on the grid to break into the 1:31s across all of Bahrain testing. Leclerc also completed 132 laps on Friday, only behind Lindblad and Sainz. While Mercedes are still the favourites, rivals believe the Italian team are also not far behind on race simulations.
But what about that rear wing? Ferrari only achieved 78 laps overall on Day 2, but they stunned the F1 world in the morning with a rear wing that went upside-down when the SF-26 activated straight mode, reducing drag and even generating lift like an airplane. Despite only being on display for five laps, it was an innovation that also added to Ferrari’s impressive diffuser, with a ‘mini-wing’ sat at the exhaust exit.
Ferrari seem to have an advantage at race starts too. On Day 2, Hamilton blasted past rivals during a practice start in the morning despite starting from the P9 grid box. As the 2026 cars are already looking like a tricky generation for overtaking, don’t be surprised if the Scuderia are fighting right at the front in the early stages of the season.
Losers: Williams
Williams, like Aston Martin, arrived late to pre-season testing after being the only team to miss the Barcelona shakedown, and while the Grove-based team have by no means endured the same level of hardship, they too are expected to start 2026 playing catch-up.
The first week was a success for James Vowles’ team, as they completed the joint-most laps with McLaren (422). Performance has not quite shown up at Test 2, however, with Carlos Sainz confirming to media, including GPblog, that Williams are “starting with a weight problem and a downforce problem.”
It’s far from catastrophic, but after securing two podiums and P5 last year, the hype around Williams in the build-up to 2026 has certainly stalled, which clearly frustrated Sainz on Thursday.
“How it is possible that Williams, who had the whole of 2025 to focus on the 2026 car and with more hours in the wind tunnel, we weren’t as good at developing the car as the top four teams that had less time, and that were fighting for the world championship last year.
“So it’s a lesson for the team to see how far ahead the front-runners are. We also have to learn to make lighter cars, but I think we’ve already figured that out this year. And I think the team will already be ready to produce a lighter car next year,” Sainz concluded.
Winners: Red Bull Powertrains
During the first test, Mercedes’ Wolff claimed Red Bull were the early benchmark for 2026. The second week of testing has painted a slightly different picture, but both Red Bull and Racing Bulls still look impressive in terms of reliability, despite using their own Red Bull Ford power units for the very first time.
On Day 2, Red Bull’s Verstappen completed 139 laps across both morning and afternoon sessions - only McLaren and Mercedes achieved more - whereas Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad broke records on Friday as he became the first driver to go beyond 160 laps in one day in Bahrain.
And for all that reliability, the Red Bull Ford powertrain is also certainly not uncompetitive, Verstappen’s quickest lap times were enough to put him in the top three on the final two days, eight hundredths of a second ahead of Mercedes’ Russell on Day 3.
While Verstappen has his gripes with F1 2026, calling it “anti-racing,” and “Formula E on steroids,” he’ll most certainly be pleased with the work done at Red Bull to supply him with a reliable and competitive debut power unit.
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