🏁 Pre-season testing: how F1 is built
Barcelona diagnoses, Bahrain confirms: the 2026 season begins
Published
27 Ene 2026
Est. reading time
3 min
👉 The Barcelona Showdown tests are underway
Formula One in 2026 brings the biggest regulatory change of the last decade, and the start of pre-season reflects exactly that: there are no shortcuts, no quick readings, no immediate conclusions.
Before thinking about results, positions or hierarchies, teams go through a process divided into two very different but complementary stages: the Barcelona Shakedown and the official Bahrain tests.
Understanding what teams are looking for in each phase is key to avoiding over interpretation of what we see on track.
🇪🇸 Barcelona: first contact with a new era
The Barcelona shakedown is not designed to measure pure car performance. Its role is far more basic and, at the same time, decisive: making sure everything works.
It began yesterday, and teams have a maximum of three days to complete the shakedown, which they can distribute freely between Monday and Friday. This is not a continuous or mandatory test, but a flexible window aimed at validating basic systems, detecting early issues and carrying out initial adjustments. With completely new cars, this phase is even more critical than in previous pre-seasons.
🚦 First day on track for Franco
Alpine has already shared a positive summary of the first day of running in Barcelona, marked by the official debut of the new car under the 2026 regulations.
Franco completed a solid programme focused on mileage accumulation and system validation. Over the day, he completed 60 laps, totalling 279 kilometres across the morning and afternoon sessions, in cold but stable conditions with temperatures ranging between 6°C and 14°C.
Franco highlighted the importance of this first contact with a completely new generation of Formula 1 cars:
“It’s a great feeling to start my first Formula One pre-season with a new car. With such different regulations, there’s a lot to learn and understand. The team has done a great job preparing everything so the car was ready to run from day one, and there’s a very positive atmosphere in the garage. We still have two more days to add mileage, focus on ourselves and make the most of this shakedown.”
Barcelona is therefore the first major technical check
With completely new cars: smaller, lighter, with less aerodynamic load and far more relevant electrical systems, the first kilometres are used to validate fundamental concepts:
- Overall car reliability
- Operation of the new hybrid package
- Correlation between simulator and track
- Initial aerodynamic response
- Basic driving sensations for Franco and all drivers
At this stage, lap times mean nothing
Teams are running different programmes, fuel loads vary and configurations are often conservative. Barcelona will provide a technical diagnosis, not a sporting comparison.
💪 Why 2026 will be different
Unlike other pre-seasons, this year forces teams to relearn almost everything:
- Reduced reliance on ground effect
- Full introduction of active aerodynamics
- Much more complex electrical management
- Removal of the MGU-H
- A 50/50 split between electric and combustion power
And as we still don’t fully know what each of these changes will mean for Alpine and Franco, we will be explaining everything soon in an upcoming F1 updates Tuesday.
The first tests become a phase of accelerated learning, where making mistakes early is the best outcome.
👀 What comes next
In a few weeks, the cars will return to real track action in Bahrain, host of the official pre-season tests, split into two blocks: from 11-13 and 18-20 February.
The focus on performance will come in Bahrain, where the climate, format and TV coverage will allow us to start drawing conclusions closer to the reality of what lies ahead in Formula One this year.
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