What we learned from Day 2 of the first 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain

There were some impressive mileage counts on day two of pre-season testing in Bahrain, but while most teams were encouraged by what they were learning about their new-for-2026 Formula 1 machines, it wasn't so rosy for everyone...

Red Bull impress despite loss of early running

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was prolific during his full day in the car on Wednesday, with the four-time World Champion clocking 136 laps.

And while it didn't start so well for his team mate Isack Hadjar on Thursday, with the Frenchman spending most of the morning in his civvies on the Red Bull hospitality terrace while an undisclosed issue was fixed, the team did a superb job to get him back out just before the lunch break.

He then completed a solid 87 laps, with Hadjar saying he felt good with the car and that the team's planned programme was unaffected by the morning stoppage.

While there's still a long way to go, of course, several well-placed sources across the paddock reckon Red Bull have reacted very well to the new regulations and may well be the benchmark. That echoes Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's thoughts on Wednesday.

We'll learn more about their package, which features the first-ever Red Bull Ford Powertrain that has run remarkably reliably on debut, when Verstappen and Hadjar share driving duties on the final day on Friday.

Mercedes encounter another tricky day

Mercedes' boss Wolff was keen to play down the team's hopes for the season, despite their smooth Barcelona Shakedown, when he spoke to the media on Wednesday – not least because they encountered a suspension issue that cost track time.

Another niggle, this time with the power unit, meant they lost yet more track time on day two, with the team forced to change the engine and limiting Kimi Antonelli to just three laps.

"Changing the whole unit was quicker than swapping the affected part but unfortunately meant we weren't back on track with George [Russell] until one hour into the afternoon running," said trackside chief Andrew Shovlin.

"George thankfully had a better time of it than Kimi. After yesterday's issues, we're still behind on the set-up work but at least got the car into a reasonable window by the end of the day. We'll focus on trying to recover the lost running tomorrow."

The Italian has managed just 33 laps in Bahrain, compared to 110 for Mercedes team mate Russell. It is far from a disaster for Mercedes, but with rivals ploughing on collecting high mileage in good conditions, it is not ideal.

Shovlin added: "We've got George in the car for the morning and Kimi for the afternoon and hopefully can finish the week with a solid, trouble-free day. There are a few issues that we need to dig into on the performance side and hopefully we can make more progress ahead of next week’s second test."

Audi continue productive F1 debut

Audi have made a very strong start to life in Formula 1. They were the first team to complete a shakedown of a 2026-spec car – and while they encountered several niggles that hindered mileage in Barcelona, that is to be expected of a new works team, running a debut engine.

They've stepped up their game in a big way by bringing a significant upgrade to Bahrain, with many of the details on their car catching the eye of their rivals. And Nico Hulkenberg told me he could definitely feel it was a good step forward relative to the first spec.

Hulkenberg and his team mate Gabriel Bortoleto worked on different set-ups, while also learning about their new engine – and there was plenty of work done on understanding the best utilisation of the new tools at their disposal this year, including Boost and Overtake.

It's hard to know where they stack up, of course, but they have certainly improved reliability and performance from Barcelona to Bahrain, which is a fine step for the new works squad.

Challenging start to Newey era at Aston Martin

Lance Stroll cut a despondent figure when he spoke to media on Wednesday, with the Canadian admitting his Aston Martin – the first to be designed by legend Adrian Newey – just needs more performance, more grip and a better balance.

Fernando Alonso was on driving duties on Thursday - and the car looked like a real handful for the double World Champion. The Spaniard and Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack said after the session that they know they are missing pace.

It's important to remember that Aston Martin are putting a lot of new pieces together. Newey's first design will run a Honda power unit for the first time, with the Japanese manufacturer returning to the sport.

They are also making their first gearbox and suspension, having previously taken those components from Mercedes along with the Silver Arrows' power unit, and their wind tunnel only came online midway through last year.

Newey has already said that they were around four months behind rival teams in getting their model in the wind tunnel based on when it was ready to come online – and that led to a tight timeframe that ultimately meant they joined the Barcelona Shakedown late.

There's a feeling within the team that it's going to be a difficult start to the 2026 campaign and that it might take several months before they are able to really get in the fight, but they are throwing everything at it.

They are also aware of the high level of competition and the challenge of pulling everything together. I understand they see it as a 10-year journey, which began in 2021, to fighting for wins and championships – though of course they hope to get there sooner.