Next year, Formula 1 will have a much longer pre-season testing schedule than in recent years. Instead of just three days of testing, which has been the standard lately, teams will have a total of eleven days to prepare for the season. The testing will take place in two locations. The first five days will be held in Barcelona at the end of January, and then there will be two three-day sessions in Bahrain in February.

This increase in testing time is necessary because the 2026 season will bring some of the biggest technical changes the sport has seen in years. There will be completely new cars, a new generation of tyres, new fuel regulations and, most importantly, new power units. All of these changes mean that teams will need much more time on track to understand their cars and systems before the racing begins.

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The testing schedule will start in Barcelona from the 26th to the 30th of January. This will be followed by two sessions in Bahrain, the first from the 11th to the 13th of February, and the second from the 18th to the 20th of February. The first race of the season is then scheduled for the 8th of March in Melbourne, Australia.

While the Barcelona test is longer, it will be much more private. The event is officially listed as a "private collective pre-season test," and it will take place behind closed doors. This means that fans will not be able to watch the sessions live on F1 TV, and journalists, photographers, and even the teams’ social media crews will not be allowed at the track. Because of this, fans and media will have to rely on spy photos and speculation for any updates or insights from the first test.

Weather conditions in Barcelona are also likely to play a role. In late January, the temperatures in the area are not ideal for testing tyres. This year, the maximum temperatures during the same period were only around ten to fifteen degrees Celsius, and the mornings were even colder. As a result, teams are not expected to gather much useful data about tyre performance during the Barcelona sessions. Instead, they will probably use the time to focus on other aspects of their cars, such as the new power units and mechanical systems.

In contrast, the two tests in Bahrain will be more useful in terms of tyre evaluation and setup work. These sessions will be open to coverage, and fans will be able to follow the action through F1 TV. The warmer and more stable weather conditions in Bahrain are also closer to what teams will face during the season, making these tests more relevant for final preparations.

In addition to the testing news, Formula 1 has also made a small change to the 2026 calendar. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been moved from Sunday the 27th of September to Saturday the 26th. This adjustment was made to respect a national day of remembrance in Azerbaijan. The 27th of September marks the beginning of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, and it is officially recognised as a Memorial Day in the country. By moving the race one day earlier, Formula 1 aims to be respectful of the local culture and historical context.