F1 test Bahrain-1 2026: who drives and when? The drivers’ shifts during the three days of testing

F1 returns to the track with the Bahrain tests Once the shakedown week in Barcelona is over, F1 returns to the track for the first of two rounds of actual tests, hosted as per tradition (it has been this way continuously since 2021) by the Sakhir circuit, in Bahrain. Although very far from Europe and therefore from the factories of the Formula 1 teams, the track, which is located a few kilometers from the capital Manama, is in fact one of the best locations to test the characteristics of the single-seaters during the winter, either due to the mild temperatures and the generally stable climate, or because the fairly complete layout features long straights, violent braking with restarts where good traction is essential, but also successions of corners to test the behavior of the car at medium and high speeds. The F1 test format This year’s F1 test plate is also unusually rich: after the five days in Barcelona behind closed doors, of which only three were available for each of the 10 teams on track (Williams was missing), what is about to take place in Sakhir from 11 to 13 February is only the first of two three-day sessions, with the teams re-igniting the new 2026 V6 turbo hybrid engines from 18 to 20 of this same year month, to cover other fundamental kilometers in view of the debut in Melbourne on March 8th. For the rest, the format remains unchanged compared to previous years: each day of track testing will see only one car from each team on the track, with the drivers asked to alternate behind the wheel with their teammate, choosing whether to stay in the car for a whole day or whether to split the day in half between the morning and afternoon sessions. However, this is not a rule imposed by the regulations, but it is clear that it is in the interest of the teams to give more or less the same mileage to each of their two drivers in order to gain confidence with the car and better prepare for the 2026 Formula 1 season. The traffic light is green from 8am to 12pm and from 1pm to 5pm Italian time each day, with an institutionalized one-hour lunch break. The work programme: the table with the driving shifts Below is the table (updated as official confirmations from the teams arrive) which summarizes the shifts of the drivers involved at the wheel of the F1 cars in the Sakhir tests. TeamBahrain-1 day-1 (11/02/26)Bahrain-1 day-2 (12/02/26)Bahrain-1 day-3 (13/02/26)McLarenOscar PiastriLando NorrisLando Norris (AM)Oscar Piastri (PM)MercedesGeorge Russell (AM)Kimi Antonelli (AM)George Russell (AM)Kimi Antonelli (PM)George Russell (PM)Kimi Antonelli (PM)Red BullMax VerstappenIsack HadjarMax Verstappen (AM)Isack Hadjar (PM)FerrariTo be definedTo be definedTo be definedWilliamsCarlos Sainz (AM)Alex Albon (AM)Carlos Sainz (AM)Alex Albon (PM)Carlos Sainz (PM)Alex Albon (PM)Racing BullsTo be definedTo be definedTo be definedAston MartinLance StrollFernando AlonsoLance StrollHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanOliver Bearman (AM)Esteban Ocon (PM)AudiGabriel Bortoleto (AM)Nico Hulkenberg (AM)Gabriel Bortoleto (AM)Nico Hulkenberg (PM)Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)Nico Hulkenberg (PM)AlpineTo be definedTo be definedTo be definedCadillacTo be definedTo be definedTo be definedThe drivers’ driving shifts in the first three days of testing in Bahrain. Table being updated Here, however, is a short survival manual for the mountains of data that will emerge from the F1 tests in Bahrain.