Top F1 Teams After Pre-Season Tests: Place Your Bet Right Away!

Get the full breakdown of the top F1 teams after pre-season tests in Bahrain. We analyze the pace of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull as they enter the 2026 season. Find out who has the fastest car and the best reliability. This guide covers everything you need to know before the first race in Melbourne.

The 2026 season introduces a radical era for the top F1 teams after pre-season tests. Fans watched with excitement as the new cars finally hit the Bahrain track. Mercedes topped the timesheets, but Ferrari showed the most consistent long-run pace. Red Bull and McLaren are also lurking close behind the leaders.

This article analyzes which teams navigated the new regulations with the most success. We examine the lap times, reliability stats, and driver feedback from the desert. Register at any of the online sportsbook sites in Australia to bet right away!

6. Haas: Top F1 Teams After Pre-Season Tests

Haas has much more up their sleeves than we could expect. Not only a phenomenal car, but also likely cooperation with the recently dominant Ferrari, and Oliver Bearman. However, to fully understand what Haas is capable of this season, we need to see their control when the 2026 F1 season begins. Esteban Ocon also provided veteran feedback to help refine the car setup. He managed a best lap of 1:35.578 during the opening day of testing. Consequently, the team feels more prepared than they have been in years.

To fully understand their potential, we must watch the 2026 season opener. The true test of their control will come under full racing conditions. Haas often starts seasons strongly before falling behind in the development race. Thus, they must maintain this momentum to stay among the top teams. Their focus on the C3 tire compound suggests a realistic approach to pace. They did not chase “glory laps” with the softest available rubber. Instead, they focused on understanding how the new active wings affect balance. Register at VAVE Sportsbook to place your first F1 bet of the year!

5. Racing Bulls

Not among the top F1 teams after pre-season tests, but the strongest in the midfield. This is going to be a hard pill to swallow, but Racing Bulls is still among the top teams, yet lagging in fourth place. If you wish to bet on F1 teams, we believe that you should use our 2026 F1 pre-season betting guide to learn how to bet on the front-teams and the middle-teams. We believe this team provides a great example of mid-tier performance and stability. They utilize many components from the main Red Bull project to save costs.

This strategy helps them stay competitive despite having a smaller overall budget. However, they must develop their own unique aero solutions to move forward. The new 2026 regulations favor teams that can innovate within the strict rules. Racing Bulls has the talent and the tools to succeed this year. They just need to find that extra tenth of a second per lap. Consistency will be their best weapon against faster but less reliable rivals.

4. Red Bull: Top F1 Teams After Pre-Season Tests

The team is phenomenal at satisfying all the needs of Max Verstappen. Yet with him being their only play-card, we can not help but think this might show yet another shortcoming from them. According to the GP Blog, Red Bull, just like Mercedes, is under pressure due to the new car. Because Mercedes performed the fastest, yet it is only in the final result. However, when it comes to performance on the straights? Red Bull was faster than Mercedes. This gives us hope that this year might be a fight between Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes at the top.

The three-time champion completed a massive 136 laps on the first day. He set a best time of 1:34.798 to lead the early charts. Yet, he is often their only play-card in the championship fight. This reliance on one driver might show a potential shortcoming for them. Isack Hadjar is still learning the ropes as he joins the senior team. Therefore, the pressure is entirely on Verstappen to deliver consistent race wins. The new RB22 car features an in-house power unit designed by Ford. This is a massive risk for a team used to Honda’s perfection.

3. McLaren

As expected, this team is among the top F1 teams after pre-season tests. McLaren dominated the last few seasons, but was it really due to the drivers? We believe that it was generally the car, and while the drivers are still top-performing racers, they might have issues with the new regulations. Among some fun facts about the 2026 F1 season, we have the fact that this season hosts the largest number of World Champions on the same grid. This is going to be stressful for Lando and Piastri both. Lando Norris set the fastest time on the very first day of testing. He clocked a 1:34.669 to put McLaren at the front of the field. However, 

Oscar Piastri was unsure about their exact place in the pecking order. He admitted that the top four teams are all very close. Transitioning to the new active aero systems will be the biggest challenge. McLaren has historically been adept at adapting to new chassis rules. Thus, they should remain a podium contender in the early rounds. They focused heavily on race simulations during the final afternoon in Bahrain. Because of this, their one-lap pace remains a bit of a mystery. We expect them to be very strong in the medium-speed sectors.

2. Mercedes: Top F1 Teams After Pre-Season Tests

According to ESPN, the fastest result was performed by Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the new Mercedes. While data shows that they were not the best performing, clearly they were the ones who ‘won’. Thus, we believe that the star-rookie might just have an even better season than last time. But can Russell challenge Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, and many others? The rookie drove the new Mercedes W17 to a lap of 1:33.669.

While some data suggests they weren’t the best overall, they “won” testing. This headline-grabbing pace has put the entire paddock on high alert. Russell also looked very fast with a 1:33.918 during the morning session. They utilized the C3 tire to set their most impressive lap times. This shows that the car has great mechanical grip even on harder tires. Therefore, they should be very competitive on tracks with high surface temperatures.

1. Ferrari

Finally, a great surprise, yet a sour-sweet hope among the top F1 teams after pre-season tests. According to Give Me Sport, Ferrari is very likely to be the best team right now. Yes, Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli performed much better than they did, and he is a promising rookie. However, right now the team feels like it has the car, the experience, the drivers, and the consistency to make it to the top, at least in the early stages of the race. They completed 421 laps and showed incredible reliability with their new engine. The Ferrari 067/6 power unit has already covered over 4,000 kilometers this year. This distance is equivalent to fourteen full Grand Prix race weekends.

Therefore, the team has the car, experience, and consistency to succeed. Lewis Hamilton looked very comfortable in his new red racing suit in Bahrain. He set the third-fastest time overall with a lap of 1:34.209 on Day 3. Charles Leclerc was right behind him with a strong 1:34.273 from his running. The car looks particularly strong in low-speed traction and straight-line speed. Because they focused on data gathering, they didn’t chase the fastest laps. Thus, their true potential might be even higher than the timesheets suggest. Register at VAVE Sportsbook to bet on F1 this season!

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