It's very nearly time to say, "Lights out, and away we go!" for the highly anticipated 2026 F1 season, which begins down under on March 6 in Australia. However, for those who can't wait to see their favourite team and driver hit the track, you're in luck.
February will give us the first look at each team's newly developed cars and a better idea of how they've fared with the regulation changes that have been implemented this year. For more information about that exciting shake-up, click here.
Pre-season testing provides not one, not two, but three opportunities to see all 11 teams in action (the first time we'll have 11 teams since 2016). While the first test takes place privately at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya between January 26 and January 30, the second and third tests will allow fans to catch a preview of the teams in action before the official start of the season.
Both public testing windows take place over two three-day periods (February 11 - 13 and February 18 - 20) at the Bahrain International Circuit, which will later host round four of the F1 World Championship on April 10 - 12. You'll be able to watch these sessions on Sky Sports and Apple TV, depending on where you are in the world.
2025 pre-season testing provided a range of results, with McLaren's Lando Norris topping the time sheets by 0.157 on day one. He was followed by George Russell of Mercedes, and the reigning four-time World Champion, Max Verstappen, delivering his own early-season benchmark in third place for the first day of testing.
Day two was a showcase for Williams' Carlos Sainz as he showed Ferrari what they'd lost by finishing 0.031 seconds quicker than the 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who had just replaced him in the Maranello-based team. Russell put in another consistent round and finished third for the day.
Russell's consistent performance continued into the final day of testing, securing him a place at the top of the time sheets, a mere 0.021 seconds quicker than Verstappen. Williams again featured in the top 3 with Alex Albon only 0.105 seconds slower than the Red Bull.
The consistency shown by Russell came to fruition during the 2025 season with Mercedes claiming second in the Constructors Championship behind the dominant McLaren but ahead of main rivals Red Bull in third. After a few difficult years for Williams, that surprise success continued throughout the year, with two podiums for Sainz as the team finished an impressive "best of the rest" 5th place in the Constructors' Championship.
A dominant 2025 season for McLaren by no means guarantees that the team will drive away with the top of the timesheets in testing. Team Principal Andrea Stella told Sky Sports Italy, "I still see the excellent work being done on our technical side, particularly in terms of the development curve, which is important and encouraging, but we don’t know where the others are."
Given the overhaul of the regulations will no doubt bring exciting rounds of pre-season testing as teams like McLaren and Red Bull will look to continue to top the time sheets. It may also give the likes of Williams and Aston Martin a chance to really make gains as a new era for F1 begins.
Still, how things will play out this year currently remains to be seen...