F1 insider reveals 2026 pecking order based on 'secret' Bahrain testing data

Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater has revealed the expected pecking order for 2026 based on 'secret' telemetry data from testing.

The third and final pre-season test of the session concluded in Bahrain on Friday.

It was Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who comfortably topped the timesheets on the third and final day, becoming the first driver all week to set a lap time under 1 minute and 32 seconds.

Leclerc's time of 1:31.992 was 0.879 seconds quicker than second-placed Lando Norris, with the Monegasque driver also completing the third-most laps (132) of any driver on day three.

Mercedes had led the way on days one and two, with team-mates George Russell and Kimi Antonelli trading fastest times on the final leaderboard.

While both of the aforementioned teams look to be in a strong position, the same cannot be said for Aston Martin, who endured a nightmare test.

Their three days of running in Bahrain were littered with problems, with power unit suppliers Honda even being forced to release an impromptu statement after Fernando Alonso stopped on track with a battery issue on Thursday.

Their track time on Friday was limited to just six laps, with Lance Stroll not even putting a representative time on the board.

The Canadian spun into the gravel on Wednesday after his steering wheel dashboard appeared to shut off on corner entry.

Out of the other expected frontrunners, Red Bull and reigning champions McLaren both look to have had solid tests - even if McLaren CEO Zak Brown claimed his team would likely be fourth-fastest on the grid during the season-opener in Melbourne on March 8.

Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater has given his predictions for which teams are in the best position heading into Australia - and thinks a surprise name will be among the top five.

"I have tried to put together a top 11 ranking of all the teams at the end of this test week," he began.

"It carries my name, but I would say that these are based on conversations I've had with team personnel, people with a direct window into GPS traces, that sort of thing, and with a viewpoint as to how things will play out over the course of the season.

"The first thing to say is, I think circuit-specific form will be a big aspect of this season.

"With that in mind - and it is a consensus view - Mercedes seem to be slightly ahead of the pack. We haven't seen the best of their power unit yet.

"McLaren, I'm putting slightly ahead of Ferrari, based on the efficacy of that Mercedes power unit [Mercedes also supply McLaren].

"And also because some of the engineers have told me they have concerns about the small turbo in the Ferrari power unit. It's good for starts, we've seen that, but could that be a deficit and a problem particularly on power-sensitive tracks?

"Red Bull, I'm putting in fourth place, which is a tremendous achievement for a team which have built their own power unit. That power unit's harvesting and deployment does look very good indeed.

"Then there's a little bit of a gap to the midfield. Top of the midfield, we think, Alpine. [They are] Mercedes customers this season, having stopped their own engine programme.

"It's a toss-up between them and Haas, who are much-improved themselves. So that's Alpine going from the bottom team [last season] to maybe the fifth team.

"And Haas, also excellent preparation this pre-season as well."

Slater adds that there is another 'toss-up' between the rest of the midfield teams, with Aston Martin, perhaps predictably, ranked in 11th and last.

"They're having significant problems with their Honda power unit," he said. "Despite having Adrian Newey, having spent a lot of money, they are starting at the back. But surely they'll improve over the course of the year."