The murky calculus required to get the best out of the 2026 Formula 1 cars gradually revealed itself during the second pre-season test in Bahrain. The competitive order remains unclear, but there were two headline conclusions: firstly, that Red Bull, with its new in-house power unit, looks strong; and secondly that Max Verstappen is not impressed with these new cars.

The majority of drivers were on message and presented F1 in the best-possible light despite the question marks hanging over whether the driving and racing challenge of this rules set, built on the foundation of a notional 50/50 split of conventional V6 and electrical power, would be overwhelmed by the energy-management demands. Verstappen, brutally honest as ever, called the rules “anti-racing”, likening the cars to “Formula E on steroids” and suggested they are “not very Formula 1-like”. If the Red Bull RB22 didn’t look so impressive, you would dismiss that as sour grapes, but given that Verstappen not only appears to have a competitive car, but is also perhaps the driver best-equipped to master the esoteric driving demands of this car, it was a devastating critique.

However, it’s far from all bad. On track, the cars visibly dance more precariously on a knife-edge more than last year and many of Verstappen’s rivals cited that as a positive despite the downforce levels and grip being lower. They are shorter, narrower and lighter meaning they look more responsive on turn-in and less lazy than the previous generation of cars – also working the tyres harder. Dramatic to watch, certainly, but there are doubts over whether these will stir the soul given the requirement for lift-and-coast even on a qualifying lap.

Mercedes made a big impression in January’s behind-closed-doors Barcelona test, but Red Bull’s engine performance was talked up by rivals. In Bahrain, despite Kimi Antonelli and George Russell ending the test 1-2 on the timesheets, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed Red Bull had an advantage of a second on the straights, a position shared by Williams driver Carlos Sainz who described Red Bull as “a clear step ahead”. Given the compression-ratio row rumbling in the background, one that could be resolved at the F1 Commission meeting held around the final pre-season test, there was a political dimension to this. But make no mistake, even if the numbers are exaggerated, Red Bull looks competitive despite technical director Pierre Wache talking down a car that also caught the eye with its long-run pace.

“We are not the benchmark,” said Wache. “We see clearly the top three teams – Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are in front of us.”

Bookmakers’ championship favourite George Russell, in turn, declared that “based on what we’ve seen in Barcelona and Bahrain, Red Bull are going to be ahead”. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc suggested Mercedes was “hiding” its performance, the implication being this is to reduce the chances of action that could disadvantage it when it comes to the compression ratio saga, saying that “from where I stand now, it’s Red Bull and Mercedes in front, and then us, but it doesn’t seem to be too much of a gap for now”.

That latter point is crucial, because no one team, or power unit manufacturer, appears to be well ahead. But for all the rhetoric, runplan complications and misleading laptimes, the one aspect of testing that doesn’t lie is the behaviour of the car on track. Based on that, Verstappen and Red Bull looked well ahead early on in the test, with an extreme technique of savage downshifts to maximise energy harvesting with significant engine braking.

He was also shifting down to first in corners that last year might be taken in third, which is all about keeping the turbocharger spinning fast enough to minimise lag, but this was something rivals increasingly did as the test progressed. Verstappen beautifully handled the dynamic impact of that. Ever the master manipulator of rear-end instability, you’d say these rules were made for him if he didn’t dislike them so much.

“Haas and Alpine looked like being midfield packages”

It was in the braking and downshift strategies that the differences between the cars were most clearly exposed, although these gaps closed significantly as the running progressed. Audi was as aggressive as Red Bull, but not even close to being on top of the driveability problem. Ferrari was the most conventional, with a more progressive approach to the corner, with Mercedes somewhere in between. As for the Aston Martin-Honda, low on mileage and erratic on track, it looked all at sea. Keeping a low profile was McLaren, which is playing catch-up but without undue concern. World champion Lando Norris admitted “we’ve got a pretty big step to make to be confident of beating them [Red Bull]” and that “we don’t seem to be quite at the level of Ferrari either”, but most significantly has yet to show it has the same pace as Mercedes.

With the big four teams widely regarded in the paddock as being unchanged, Haas and Alpine looked like dependable midfield packages, the latter now benefiting from Mercedes propulsion. Latecomer Williams proved reliable after missing the Barcelona test, but often looked a little trickier than some of its rivals. Racing Bulls has the Red Bull power unit, but instability on the brakes and the struggle to get the power down at traction-dependent Bahrain held it back, while Audi looks to be at the rear.

Cadillac also caught the eye with respectable backmarker pace and improved reliability compared to Barcelona. F1’s newest team has allayed fears that qualifying could be a struggle under the 107% rule, and has a solid platform with no apparent major vices even though starting the season anywhere other than the back would be a miracle, assuming Aston makes gains.

Three more days of running in Bahrain remain – Testing 2 – which was about to commence as this magazine went to print. We then head to Australia, but with the usual caveats applied to interpreting pre-season testing pace multiplied by the complexity of these power units. The shape of the season to come remains far from clear.