The Race F1 Podcast · The Race Media Ltd

Bahrain Testing Day 6: Our final verdict on every team’s pre-season

February 20, 2026·50 min·5 clips

Aston Martin is down to its last battery, trapped in a reliability spiral that could derail their entire season.

Alpine becomes the cleanest test case. The analysts treat the Mercedes engine and gearbox switch as a concession, but also as a practical way to get Enstone breathing again. It was still a gamble. Giving up control of major hardware lowers the ceiling, especially if the team wants true class-leading potential later. Renault had lost faith, or at least no longer seemed willing to fund the old hybrid project enough to get it there. Mercedes looked safer. That safer route has helped Enstone shine a little, collect reference data, and look less boxed in by the wider regime chaos. Testing made that choice look sensible to the panel. The longer the running went on, the better the car seemed, and they treat that as a sign worth taking seriously. Some teams just clean things up. Alpine, in their view, showed the sort of visible progress that counts when early performance clues are still shaky. The verdict stays cautious. For now, the team looks capable of fighting near the front of the midfield instead of just hanging on there. Williams has the opposite problem. The analysts sound genuinely disappointed by where Williams has landed, judging the comments and the body language around the team. That contrast is the point. Alpine being decently, even boringly, midfield is good news because the team needed stability before ambition meant much. Nobody acts like testing has settled the season, but this points to Alpine finding useful calm while Williams gives the panel reason to worry.

As heard by us

A grounded Bahrain testing verdict, strongest on Alpine's Mercedes reset and Williams' worrying midfield read.

The Race F1 Podcast gets into the Bahrain testing weeds with a useful, unsentimental read on Alpine's reset. The Mercedes power unit and gearbox switch is treated as a gamble, especially for Renault's own hybrid ambitions, but the panel is clear that it looks like the right…

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Why you'd press play

The final Bahrain testing verdict: where Alpine surprised, Williams worried, and the midfield picture finally sharpened.

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