Who's really fastest in 2026? F1's new rules are confusing the pecking order - and the drivers

"Formula 1's new era was always going to bring questions, but its first week of serious running has raised more than most. Preseason testing in Bahrain has offered flashes of performance and plenty of data, yet little in the way of firm answers about how the sport's new landscape is really shaping up. On track, the stopwatch has told a shifting story, with different teams looking quick at different moments and no clear benchmark emerging amid a game of smoke and mirrors."

"Headline lap times in preseason testing are often misleading, but this year's competitive picture has been made even murkier by new power unit regulations and, increasingly, a degree of politics at play. Ask Mercedes who's got the fastest package and they say Red Bull. Ask Red Bull and they say they're fourth behind Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren. Ferrari point to Red Bull and Mercedes as the teams ahead of them, while world champions McLaren are convinced all three of their aforementioned rivals have the edge."

"On paper, F1's latest generation of power units are remarkable things, capable of producing three times as much electrical power as their predecessors and harvesting twice as much energy around a lap. But in reality that equation means they spend most of a lap starved of energy, meaning simply pushing to the limit is no longer a guaranteed route to the fastest lap time as the battery will soon be depleted."

Preseason testing in Bahrain produced inconsistent lap times and no clear competitive benchmark as teams traded quick runs. Teams publicly offered differing views on who leads, reflecting strategic ambiguity and political posturing. New power units deliver much greater electrical output and energy harvesting on paper but leave cars energy-starved for parts of a lap, complicating outright pace. Drivers expressed frustration and complexity around managing the systems. Technical interpretations, competitive suspicion and safety concerns emerged across the paddock. One more test remains before definitive conclusions can be drawn. Teams will analyze data and refine strategies ahead of competition start.

Read at ESPN.com