What did the Bahrain test revealed?

Mercedes:

Despite reliability issues, the sheer speed is impressive. They were the only ones to break the 1:34 barrier, suggesting very high performance potential. in particular of the PU. 

Red Bull:

The new Red Bull Ford PU has been praised by competitors for its efficiency, especially in long runs. Verstappen racked up a lot of miles and the car appeared solid and consistent.

McLaren:

They completed 422 laps, the maximum for any team. The kings of reliability and data collection.  They seem t0 have developed a car that could fight for the championship since the start.

Ferrari:

The SF-26 appeared to be a robust and competitive car, completing 421 laps. Hamilton and Leclerc showed good pace, both on the flying lap and in race simulations.

Haas:

The most consistent of the mid-field. A lot of laps and all the testing programs completed in a linear way. They must build on the results achieved last year.

Audi

The debut as an engine manufacturer was positive: 354 laps completed without any major problems. However, we are still far from having a competitive car.

Alpine

Despite an initial setback, not due to the Mercedes PU, the team managed to recover, completing a total of 318 laps over the three days, which is about average.

V Carb

According to GPblog, the car suffered a fluid leak that severely limited its use on the track. Liam Lawson confirmed that he had “a few minor issues” but he remained positive.

Aston Martin

The big “sick man” of the test. The new Honda engine suffered from overheating and reliability issues, limiting the team to just 206 laps. The drivers admitted that the team is in difficulty.

Williams

The team missed the Barcelona shakedown due to production delays, initially linked to failing to pass some FIA crash tests. This created a gap in the collection of aerodynamic and suspension data.