The season began with a “shakedown” behind closed doors in Spain at Barcelona before the first official test in Bahrain at the Sakhir circuit.
Here’s how you can follow the third F1 test at Bahrain and the state of play.
How to watch F1 pre-season testing
Australian fans can watch all the action on Fox Sports – either on Foxtel or streaming services Kayo Sports and Foxtel Go.
All three days of on-track testing will be broadcast, with two sessions a day from the Bahrain International Circuit.
Track action kicks off in the early evening on Wednesday for Australian fans, with running set to continue well into the night.
Each ‘morning’ and ‘afternoon’ session is four hours long with a one-hour break between. Teams can split their drivers across the two sessions per day or elect to use them for the entire day.
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Live timing is available via the official F1 website.
F1 testing TV broadcast start times (AEDT)
Wednesday, February 18
Session 1 – 5:50pm – Fox Sports 506
Session 2 – 10:55pm – Fox Sports 506
Thursday, February 19
Session 1 – 5:50pm – Fox Sports 506
Session 2 – 10:55pm – Fox Sports 506
Friday, February 20
Session 1 – 5:50pm – Fox Sports 505
Session 2 – 10:55pm – Fox Sports 506
F1 testing driver line-ups
| Team | Wednesday AM | Wednesday PM | Thursday AM | Thursday PM | Friday AM | Friday PM |
| McLaren | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri | Oscar Piastri | Lando Norris |
| Mercedes | Kimi Antonelli | George Russell | George Russell | Kimi Antonelli | Kimi Antonelli | George Russell |
| Red Bull | Isack Hadjar | Isack Hadjar | Max Verstappen | Max Verstappen | Isack Hadjar | Max Verstappen |
| Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | Lewis Hamilton | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| Williams | Alex Albon | Carlos Sainz | Alex Albon | Alex Albon | Carlos Sainz | Carlos Sainz |
| Racing Bulls | Arvid Lindblad | Liam Lawson | Liam Lawson | Liam Lawson | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad |
| Aston Martin | Lance Stroll | Fernando Alonso | Fernando Alonso | Fernando Alonso | Lance Stroll | Lance Stroll |
| Haas | Esteban Ocon | Oliver Bearman | Oliver Bearman | Esteban Ocon | Esteban Ocon | Oliver Bearman |
| Audi | Nico Hulkenberg | Gabriel Bortoleto | Gabriel Bortoleto | Nico Hulkenberg | Nico Hulkenberg | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| Alpine | Pierre Gasly | Franco Colapinto | Franco Colapinto | Franco Colapinto | Pierre Gasly | Pierre Gasly |
| Cadillac | Sergio Perez | Valtteri Bottas | Valtteri Bottas | Sergio Perez | Sergio Perez | Valtteri Bottas |
Who are the favourites for F1 2026?
McLaren won the constructors’ championship and drivers’ championship in 2025, but come into the 2026 season as something of an unknown quantity.
Mercedes and Red Bull have been tipped as the early favourites with George Russell and Max Verstappen respectively.
The Mercedes W17 and Red Bull RB22 have both found a compression ratio loophole in the regulations that no other team has enacted, causing some concerns among their rivals.
Who was fastest in the first Bahrain test?
Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time on Day 3 of the first test in Bahrain with a 1:33.669 in his Mercedes W17, followed by his teammate George Russell on a 1:33.918s.
Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were third and fourth respectively ahead of the two McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Red Bull are something of a dark horse, with many believing Max Verstappen hasn’t shown his hand. He was seventh at the end of the first test ahead of Haas duo Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon. The top 10 was completed by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
Norris was the only driver inside the top 10 to set his quickest time on the C2 medium compound, while the others were all on the C2 soft.
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