McLaren urged urgent safety changes to 2026 Formula 1 race-start procedures after testing showed the new, high-electric-output power units have complicated starts and increased collision risk. Team principal Andrea Stella called the refinements “imperative,” warning that the near-50% electric output of the 2026 power units, combined with the removal of the MGU-H and DRS, has created conditions that can leave power units unprepared on the grid, foster widespread lift-and-coast behavior and produce large closing-speed differentials. Stella proposed straightforward fixes — allowing more time on the grid and adjusting battery power allocation — and said those measures should be adopted before the season opener in Melbourne; he expects the issues to be tabled urgently at the next F1 Commission meeting. Stella also referenced the severity of past high-closing-speed incidents, citing Mark Webber’s 2010 Valencia accident and Riccardo Patrese’s 1992 Estoril crash to underline the stakes.

The technical problem is that, with the MGU-H removed and much greater electric output, teams must keep the V6 turbo spooled for around 10 seconds to avoid lag and battery overcharging. Drivers were observed holding the throttle for more than 10 seconds during shakedowns and testing, and mistiming the spooling can trigger anti-stall interventions or slow getaways. The final day of Bahrain pre-season testing ended chaotically: a scheduled FIA practice start went badly wrong, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari stalled with under 10 minutes remaining, only three of seven cars launched cleanly on a second attempt (Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli and Sergio Perez), Oscar Piastri hesitated, and Franco Colapinto nearly crashed after an anti-stall issue. Teams attributed the instability to the new technical package; paddock analysis suggested roughly one in 20 starts are being fumbled, and drivers such as Gabriel Bortoleto described the routine as “complicated,” saying he sometimes “loses count” and calling it “quite a mess.”

The testing episode has intensified pressure on the FIA, teams and drivers to find mitigations before race starts under the new regulations. McLaren warned that drivers starting at the back may not be guaranteed the full 10 seconds needed to spool the turbo, a concern echoed by Valtteri Bottas, who said a likely penalty putting him at the back for Melbourne made him doubt there would be enough time to spool properly. Any change to the start sequence will have to balance safety, operational practicality and competitive fairness: a comparable proposal was previously rejected after Ferrari, and Ferrari principal Fred Vasseur opposed it on the grounds that Ferrari’s power-unit development favored a shorter start sequence. The start-procedure proposal will be revisited in fresh talks as stakeholders seek urgent agreement before the season begins.

Uncertainty remains over the true F1 pecking order after the three-day Bahrain pre-season test. Ferrari showed impressive long-run pace, heavy mileage and an organized, reliable program — Charles Leclerc praised the team’s runs — and Alpine’s Steve Nielsen suggested Ferrari could be “the class of the field.” At the same time, paddock figures and rival drivers cautioned that several teams appeared to be masking their true speed: some said Mercedes had been hiding performance, others, including Max Verstappen, accused sandbagging, while Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache warned his team were “not the benchmark for sure.” These reactions meant visible timesheets and runs told conflicting stories rather than a definitive hierarchy.

There were concrete signs on both sides. Mercedes topped parts of running, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli leading day three and the team posting a fastest lap and a 1-2 in week one. McLaren showed strong reliability — Oscar Piastri set a Bahrain test record with 161 laps and Andrea Stella said the team completed sign-off checks. Ferrari logged heavy mileage and posted top times on day two; the SF-26’s reliability and Leclerc’s clean long runs fueled the impression the team may have conserved qualifying performance during testing. Observers also flagged Red Bull’s new power-unit efficiency and suggested some performance might still be held in reserve.

Team principals and technical directors repeatedly warned that a three-day test is a poor one-off gauge of season order because teams can mask pace with differing programs, fuel loads, engine modes, energy deployment, lift-and-coast driving and electrical settings. Stella, Leclerc and Wache emphasized that comparisons of single laps are unreliable. A clearer running order will likely emerge only once cars run in competitive trim under weekend procedures — after the second Bahrain test, scheduled for Feb 18–20, and the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne and its early-March qualifying session.

Pre‑season Formula 1 testing began at the Bahrain International Circuit, giving fans their first public look at the new 2026 cars and power units and replacing the strictly private shakedowns that preceded it. The Sakhir running brought every team on track together for the first time this year; Williams had missed the earlier Barcelona shakedown.

Organizers scheduled three days of running, each made up of two four‑hour sessions, with morning action from 7am GMT and the planned daily program finishing by 4pm. After two days of running, teams concentrated on systems checks, high mileage and data gathering rather than outright lap performance, using short and long programs to validate components, refine setups and check reliability.

Engineers practiced pit stops, collected telemetry and made iterative setup changes while addressing intermittent mechanical glitches, with observers expecting more performance‑focused runs by the afternoon of Day 3. On Day 2 McLaren’s Lando Norris posted the fastest lap among 18 runners; Red Bull showed competitive pace in early running, and Aston Martin planned to put Fernando Alonso into the AMR26 for his first on‑track running during the test.

Media on site provided live reporting and extensive photo coverage, documenting established drivers such as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and George Russell alongside younger drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad. Photographs also showed Sergio Pérez in Cadillac’s entry — Cadillac is the new entrant joining the 11 teams at Sakhir — and coverage framed the tests as a pivotal moment for teams to validate systems and gather baseline data ahead of the season.