Stella: Ferrari and Mercedes lead early 2026 F1 pecking order after Bahrain test

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the opening three‑day pre‑season test in Bahrain has been “extremely positive” for his team in terms of reliability and mileage — but he believes Ferrari and Mercedes currently look like the strongest teams on the grid.

While Stella stressed that testing times can be misleading, he acknowledged that early race‑simulation data points toward a clear front‑running duo.

Stella began by highlighting the smooth running McLaren achieved across the opening test, praising the team’s ability to gather data with minimal disruption.

“Before we look at the pecking order, I have to say that this test so far has been extremely positive in terms of the mileage that we have been able to achieve. Reliability. Functionality.”

He noted that the aggressive packaging of the new 2026 cars has made them more complex to work on — an issue affecting the entire field.

“And I think we see with all teams, that at times, these cars required to take half a day off, because, not only they are completely new, but certainly ours, but I'm sure it's the same for everyone, especially the packaging has been particularly pushed from an engineering, from an innovation point of view, so they are also cars that take time to work on.”

Stella said the team’s trajectory across the two tests so far has been encouraging, especially after a challenging start in Barcelona.

“So there's a positive in that the work that we have been able to do so far… The first couple of days in Barcelona definitely were quite a bit of hard work to get the project to get going. But after that, day three in Barcelona, and this first part of the Bahrain test, quite positive from a McLaren point of view.”

Despite McLaren’s progress, Stella was clear about which teams appear strongest at this stage: “Ferrari and Mercedes top of the list.”

He emphasised that testing always makes it difficult to judge true performance, given the unknowns around fuel loads, engine modes, and car weight.

“When it comes to looking at the pecking order, I think it's always very difficult in testing. If we consider the power unit, the weight of the car themselves, they can move loads of lap time, so it's difficult to compare.”

Stella said that long‑run pace — particularly from Lewis Hamilton’s simulations — offered a more reliable indicator of where teams stand.

“In terms of race pace, I can confirm that the race pace of Ferrari looks pretty competitive in the simulation that Hamilton did [on Friday].”

He added that both Ferrari and Mercedes appear to have arrived in Bahrain with strong baseline packages: “However, early indications from a competitiveness point of view, I think definitely put Ferrari and Mercedes at the top of the list in terms of those that seem to be ready from a performance point of view, in particular.”