GALLERY: Cars hit the track for Day 1 of the first 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain

Pre-season testing in Bahrain is officially underway, with the cars having now been out on track at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Feb 11, 2026 7:48am UTC

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR26

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL40 Mercedes

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving the (55) Williams FW48 Mercedes on

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Cadillac F1 Team

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Haas F1 VF-26 Ferrari on

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Gabriel Bortoleto of Brazil driving the (5) Audi F1 Team R26 on

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (3) Oracle Red Bull

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Arvid Lindblad of Great Britain driving the (41) Visa Cash App

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 11: Franco Colapinto of Argentina driving the (43) Alpine F1 A526

Following the Barcelona Shakedown, Formula 1's teams and drivers are back in action as the first official pre-season test gets underway in Bahrain.

Wednesday marked the first of three days of running before a second three-day test follows next week (February 18-20), and drivers wasted no time getting out on track at the Bahrain International Circuit. First out as the light went green was Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who will be running for both the morning and afternoon sessions on day one, while Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad followed shortly after. You can see a full line up of who is driving on the first day here.

The cars are now gathering more valuable data and running ahead of the new F1 season, which brings with it sweeping new regulations, so every lesson to learn is a crucial one as teams try to master the change in rules.

You can scroll through the gallery at the top of the page to see pictures of the cars on track throughout the day in Bahrain.

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