Following three final days of testing in Bahrain, Formula 1 fans all over the world are brimming with excitement for the upcoming 2026 season, which sees the biggest change in the sport’s regulations since the resurrection of the ground effect era in 2022. Along with this huge shift have come several engineering innovations, which professionals and pundits alike have keenly observed on track at Sakhir. That said, it’s not easy to predict a rather unpredictable sport. I have, however, assembled a few highlights from testing, and, to cut a long story short, there doesn’t yet seem to be a particular team to watch.
Perhaps the most striking change has come from Scuderia Ferrari, who have introduced a rotating rear wing and exhaust plate to their car. While this approach is slightly unorthodox, there is no doubt that the Italian team are doing something right — Ferrari poster child Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap of testing as a whole on the final day (1:31.992). Lewis Hamilton is also showing promise after a practice race start in which he quickly made his way from 5th on the grid to 1st, gliding seemingly effortlessly over the tarmac — a sharp contrast to his slipping and sliding of last year. Ferrari-powered Haas have certainly looked to be a team to watch, with Oliver Bearman also being extremely quick off the mark. The Scuderia have obviously kept the race start procedure in mind where their rivals haven’t, and no doubt that engineers will be making last minute changes to emulate them as closely as possible. It remains to be seen whether this could actually be Ferrari’s year, or whether Hamilton could even clinch that elusive eighth championship this year…or perhaps that’s just delusion talking.
Indeed, favourites Mercedes — by a whopping 31 per cent according to a poll on F1’s Instagram — have spent a lot of time preparing for this shift in regulations. While all of the front wing is legally maneuverable, Mercedes have opted only to move its rearmost element, seemingly in favour of gaining an increase in downforce and ridding themselves of the more turbulent air washing off of the tires. Mercedes, ever constant, have opted for more of a compromise when compared to the relative gamble of Ferrari, aiming to keep the front component as stable as possible while using the rear part to manipulate airflow and reduce drag. They have also added extensions on the rear wing, which could increase their top speed even further.
This prioritisation of aerodynamics continues in other Mercedes-powered cars such as the Alpine, which seems to have an extremely small cooling unit to offer further drag reduction. Williams have also foregone scoops on their brake ducts, relying solely on the gap between the wheel and the wing. It will certainly be interesting to see whether Alpine can haul themselves out of the void of irrelevancy (and finally offer poor Pierre Gasly a decent car), and whether Williams can continue on its stunning upward trajectory following the introduction of former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.
One team that may see themselves falling rapidly down the 2026 pecking order — much to the horror of Fernando Alonso fans everywhere — is Aston Martin. Despite Adrian Newey’s appointment as Team Principal and the hype surrounding his design for Aston, the Silverstone-based team have come to a screeching halt, completing only 128 laps during their time in Bahrain. It is debatable whether this has been caused by the intriguing near-attachment of the rear suspension and rear wing supports on their 2026 car. Structurally, it isn’t exactly new, but the rear suspension is certainly mounted highly, and will hopefully have some form of influence on keeping airflow around the wing regulated. While this is atypical, we’ll have to wait until the season starts in Melbourne to see whether it makes a real difference to their performance, given that the car can barely survive anywhere near a full race just yet.
On the whole, it’s certainly been an interesting few days — layers of holes, slits, and serrations which seemingly serve no purpose have proved instrumental in gathering that all-important data before the season begins. With the Australian Grand Prix just around the corner on Sunday 8th March, I’m looking forward to seeing the excitement that these new regulations will bring us very soon.
Photo by Marc Kleen on Unsplash.