F1 Testing 2026 – Day 2

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy.

It is a phenomenal day to be alive because Charles Leclerc has topped a session, albeit

yes, an eight hour testing session on day two of the 2026 season.

However, it has happened.

The dreams, the hopes.

Tommy, I might be ridden with cold, but I'm also ridden with hope.

Indeed.

Yeah, what Charles Leclerc P1 does to a man.

Three point nine seconds clear of the new rocket ship, which we'll talk about later.

And well, yeah, it's been another very interesting day and a lot more

reliability woes for some than we kind of thought after talking a lot about how it wasn't as bad.

And then, yeah, obviously, of course, we're seeing that only the final hour again

in kind of video form and a live format, but they kind of went straight in.

And it's like, look at all these cars breaking down.

It was basically the kind of summary of all the first few hours of the kind of testing.

So I'm sat there like, why are we not watching it?

Then the camera operators are there.

Is it because they don't want to pay the commentary?

Like, what what is the reason at this point?

Because we see the breakdowns.

It's not like they're not showing us.

It's absolutely bizarre.

But yes, a few twists and turns, I would say, for day two of testing

in terms of some teams, we thought were unbreakable.

And they they they had a few struggles.

Mercedes being one of them.

Right, let's get into a question straight away.

Let's dive into it from P1 Petri member Longo 1996.

Are we feeling better about Ferrari's season after Leclerc's performance

during today's testing?

Do you think do you think maybe I'm getting ahead of myself slightly?

Yes, absolutely.

No, sure not.

However, however.

And we will come on to Aston Martin and their lack of pace.

There is nothing wrong with topping a testing time sheet.

It means Ferrari will not be the slowest car,

which is something I can now, you know, relax about.

Because you never know, with big shake ups,

they could easily get it massively wrong.

But that Ferrari engine, more specifically,

looks consistent, currently bulletproof.

I'm saying words I'm going to regret.

Wow, that's a one lap breakdown tomorrow.

Did a hundred and thirty nine laps today.

You have Ollie Bearman up in third at one point one seconds off of

Charlotte Clair, of course, also with a Ferrari engine, 130 laps for him.

And I'm not saying Ferrari are clear, but but it's positive signs.

And positivity is not something I've had in quite some time.

So I will take it.

It's very positive signs for Ferrari.

I think it's a surprise.

Obviously, there was a lot of negative chatter beforehand about where they'd be

with their their engine.

And obviously, we don't know the pecking order as of yet.

But from kind of what we've seen so far,

it does feel like Ferrari are at the very least in that kind of top four pack

with the likes of McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull,

which is kind of hilarious that those are normally the big four.

And we've had this massive raw shake up and it's looking like those four are

still ahead, potentially.

But Ferrari have done a really good job.

And I think not only have they been quick and surprised people,

they did in the shakedown, they did again in testing.

It is the reliability, you know, Cadillac.

Yes, they've had, you know, a couple of moments where where the cars kind of

shocked, but you maybe expect that more from a new team.

Not saying like the Ferrari engine is, you know, completely bulletproof,

but has been incredibly impressive.

And then, yeah, like Ferrari putting in all those laps

while other teams have had issues and every other engine seemingly like

had those issues, it's looking very nice indeed for Ferrari so far.

It certainly is.

I'm a happy, happy boy.

Right, let's question.

Fire Breath asks, do Ferrari have the best engine when it comes to reliability

and power since both Mercedes and Red Bull have had problems?

Meanwhile, Ferrari are still using the engine from the Barcelona test

and it's still doing just fine.

I wouldn't say I wouldn't say in terms of like power.

We're still yet to kind of find out reliability.

Yes, it's definitely been very impressive.

They do have, you know, it's not like their engine is completely hopeless

and their office looking strong.

I wouldn't say I've not seen Paddock Chatter being like,

oh, they're really, really, really fast.

Like we've seen with maybe Red Bull, which has surprised a lot of people,

whether it's Mercedes deflecting and now we're going to hear Toto Wolf go,

yep, Ferrari are clear of the whole pack.

Definitely not us again.

God, if he said that.

Can you imagine?

You'd take that as gospel then that.

I would, but Toto has never lied to the media

or said anything that might deceive us.

Exactly.

But reliability, yes, they definitely have that one.

And the power unit is looking very good indeed.

And yeah, this is the big thing is the fact that in the morning session,

Red Bull have been very reliable.

The only time we've kind of seen Red Bull have problems

was when Hajar spun and crashed in the shakedown.

But Max did loads of laps yesterday.

Hajar only did one lap in the morning session.

And then Antonelli only did three laps in the morning session.

So the two kind of big players going into the season, it seemed,

we're having all sorts of problems while Ferrari were just like,

thank you very much.

We're going to keep doing lap, lap after lap.

McLaren as well has to be said, 149 laps for Lando today,

the most of anybody in terms of on his own.

On a slower tire, again, McLaren just being completely underrated.

Yeah, it feels always half a second off of

Charles and was on the one step harder tire than Charles was.

C2 for Charles Leclerc, C3 for Lando Norris.

Is that the right way round?

No, sorry, C3 for Leclerc, C2 for Norris.

That's what I meant to say.

But yes, I think that it's more just it just tells us a little bit about the fact

that these regulations aren't as easy as perhaps we first thought

with everybody going around in Barcelona and doing a huge amount of laps.

And the fact that Mercedes and Red Bull both had problems this morning

shows that hardly any team bar Ferrari are bulletproof.

But I would say it's a good turnaround for Red Bull today for Hadjar.

Yes, he'd only done one lap, but he ended on 87.

So still a huge amount of laps put on the board for the afternoon.

A shame for Antonelli, I would say, the fact he only got three laps

and wasn't able to bounce back because Russell got in the car

for the afternoon session and put in 54 laps.

So 57 in total for Mercedes.

Still more than what Aston Martin had done previously,

although Aston Martin today, 98 laps for Fernando Alonso.

98 very slow laps.

Yeah, at least more mileage on the board.

Question. P1 Petri, remember Dennis Roll.

Is this season going to emphasise driver skills even more

with the different ways they can regenerate energy at the cost of stability?

So Dennis is sort of speaking about this

Max Verstappen driving technique thing that came

became apparent from day one, where there are plenty of techniques

in order to recharge the battery.

The battery is going to what is what we're going to hear about the entire season,

how they can recharge it the most efficiently and how efficient generally

that the that the battery and engine can be in order to deliver power

lap after lap after lap.

Sounds thrilling.

What were you laughing at?

It's just ridiculous, isn't it?

Because they've got all these, you know, it is part of the sport technology,

but it is I'm already slightly concerned about,

you know, how when we had the Pirelli era and it was all about tires and tires

and all the tires and the cliff and the degradation and stuff,

that it's just going to be battery, battery, battery, battery.

And I do worry that, yeah, like all these new fans that are coming in

and and even just like you want to see the most exciting

what you want is wheel to wheel racing.

You don't want to just be hearing about batteries the whole time.

And as soon as you say it, I'm like, oh, God.

Yeah, I'm a little bit concerned that drivers, very good,

talented drivers are going to be hindered by their engine, Alonso.

So that, you know, that's maybe what we're going to see for this season

and potentially beyond.

But Max, you know, there's been a few things spoken about,

which I find fascinating with the way in which Max was was driving

on day one in terms of essentially going to first gear in slower corners,

where usually and all drivers were using second gear.

And I love the fact that then all the teams have seen Max's driving style

and gone, hold on, what's this then first gear?

OK, let's try it.

The Audi drivers, I believe, tried it on day one

and it looked like they were having an absolutely torrid time going for it.

So it's not just going to be like for like just

because Max is doing a certain driving style.

They've got different engines, they've got different cars,

they've got different, completely different aerodynamics.

So the fact that they're all trying it,

they think that Max might be onto something and also as well,

like double downshifting rather than, yeah, no, no, no, no.

It's no, no, pause, no, no, pause, no, no.

And these are the the techniques that Max is is trying in in testing.

And I fear, Tommy, that your prediction of Max not winning a single race this year

with the fact that he's able to master these techniques could well end in round one.

Indeed, yeah, the way that they're like downshifting and stuff is insane.

I compared it on the watch along to if you've ever played like the Formula One game

or racing games in general, when you put on like reliability

and engine failures and you could like basically break your own engine

by downshifting really quickly.

It sounds like that, but obviously what they're doing

is a technique that's really helping with this whole like battery charging and stuff.

And it's a very on brand for Max Verstappen that he's gone out there

and found this technique that everyone's gone.

Oh, wow, OK, this is the way to do it.

One, why is he doing it?

Save it for Australia.

Come on, and then just win the first race by 50 seconds.

But it's also very interesting because you mentioned about Audi

and how they tried it, maybe it didn't quite work.

Red Bull and in the simulator and everything,

no doubt they have built their power unit and everything around the style of driving

with Max and the simulator, with them pushing this kind of idea.

So it might not be as easy for the other teams as just going, you know,

this is happening, maybe that's what Aston Martin were doing,

because my God, they were locking up on every single corner it felt like.

Very early lockups as well.

We saw from Fernando today, I would love it, by the way,

if Max and Red Bull are just playing the biggest trick on all of the teams

and it is an absolutely useless technique.

It does actually break their engine and they shift down.

Everyone Max is the only one to finish the race because everyone does it.

Yeah, I mean, that would be the biggest role

and I wouldn't put it past Max and Red Bull to do something like that.

Next question from Matty Reid, 1984.

Are Aston Martin in danger of repeating what happened to McLaren in 2015?

Looking like they are well off the pace at the back.

Very much so.

I am getting flashbacks of that McLaren Honda era.

I'm sure Fernando Alonso is as well.

And it's very concerning because this was meant to be Alonso's year

where he gets 33.

That is it Alcárez?

The tennis player was even, you know, doing Alcárez was doing Alonso celebration.

I know you're the tennis guy.

And there was there is so much hype,

particularly in Spain about this season

and how Fernando Alonso has finally got an Adrian Newey car

after a career where he's not had the machinery that he deserves for much of his career.

And he's always having to fight and deliver something better.

And he's finally got one.

And whether it's the Adrian Newey design or the engine or both,

they are beyond Struggletown.

I mentioned this on the watch along that a Spanish journalist

a very, you know, they've seen Alonso throwing his gloves out the cockpit.

We've also heard Lance Stroll say that they believe they are around four and a half seconds off.

Alonso, you know, he's he's under four seconds now.

So it's he's getting there.

But this is absolutely insane.

They look not even a case of like not going to win.

Like genuinely could be a case of them fighting Cadillac with how bad they are.

If this is if this is genuinely the case, I will hear no Cadillac slander

with Valtteri Bottas up in P8 two and a half seconds off of Charlotte.

They might be clear. What a lap.

One all one all in testing between Bottas and Perez.

We are keeping a close eye on who is fastest across each and every single one

of every session in the over the entire year.

Of course, I am team Bottas.

Tommy is team Perez as to who will come out on top in that Cadillac battle of the number two's.

But yes, it is a very scary time for Aston Martin.

Unless again, this could be some ultimate level of sandbagging

where Adrian Neary just says, right, look, Fernando Lance,

I need you to really pretend the car is rubbish.

Throw your gloves.

Tell the media with four and a half seconds back, let me cook.

I don't think that's the case.

I feel as though we've not seen a singular ounce of pace from Aston Martin and not once.

I know that we've seen in the past, I think,

hasted last year, if I remember correctly, they just did not do any fast running.

Yeah, but apart from that, especially in new regulations,

you need to see an ounce of hope.

And this is what we say about testing times don't matter,

but they do to a certain degree and Aston Martin is showing that side of it.

Definitely, because there was maybe a bit of hopium, copium after when Aston rolled out

the garage during the shakedown very late, they weren't running that engine at full

capacity and some people were just saying, well, you know, once they actually

turned the wick up their sandbagging and it's going to be absolutely amazing.

To do 98 laps and to be absolutely no way, you know, they've used the soft tire.

It's not looking good at all.

And it's incredibly, incredibly worrying because I really wanted this to be a year

where we saw Fernando Alonso win again.

And not only are we not going to get the 33, I think we're looking like

we're not even going to be 33 seconds within the leader at this rate.

Because it's so bad, so so bad after lap three.

Well, yeah, it's tough to watch.

I want to see Fernando fighting at the front.

And it's and I think we will see that sort of

you know, frustration from him because he knows that time is not on his side.

He knows that this has to be it.

And right now it is by no means even close to being it.

So he has no filter either.

He is not if he leaves, he's got nothing to lose.

He can he's going to exactly like at the end of the day, he knows this is his last.

He's not going to go to a new team.

I'd be amazed if he did.

Can you imagine?

But like he's not going to care and he's never cared in his career

anyway about burning bridges.

So like at the end of the day, he might just like completely blow up

and just go out in a blaze of glory.

And you know, I mean, imagine the team radios

if they are for four seconds off the pace like we are getting Fernando Alonso.

A whole drive survive series will be Fernando Alonso and Fernando Alonso

only because the drama will be unbelievable and not in a good way.

Yes, it will make for some kind of listening.

That's for sure.

And yeah, imagine if he did sign to a new team.

No, Aston Martin, I'm going to a new team.

I will be claiming my pension as well as racing in Formula One.

Thank you so much.

OK, next question from Juan Pablo SF1.

What midfield team has surprised you the most so far?

It is hands down.

Has F1 team.

They they look like they could well be just

just at the coattails of the top four.

That's my feelings right now.

I'd again, we're going to basing this off vials.

We're basing off of what we've actually seen.

But if we go into this season with potential reliability issues,

you have to expect reliability issues if has have a really good car.

Obviously not challenging the top four week in week out.

But if they have a car to take advantage

of certain reliability things that might go on,

they could well get their first podium.

You know, that's the kind of if you know,

they keep this this run of form up if the Ferrari engine is really good.

They could well be the Williams from last year where

Carlos Sainz, a couple of podiums and a sprint podium.

That that's my vibe at the moment for has, of course, you know,

we've got a long, long way to go.

But once again, to be putting down solid lap times,

putting in a huge amount of laps, you'd be silly to suggest

that they aren't looking in a reasonably strong position

for for where has usually are.

Absolutely. I mean, has were really, really good at the blocks

in the shakedown, did loads and loads of laps.

And they're also putting in impressive times.

Obviously, Ben, we don't know lap times don't matter too much,

but they're also doing amazing mileage.

So they matter to a certain level.

And we're looking at the other midfield teams here.

And, you know, like Audi have had their struggles.

They've not really wowed Alpine certainly looking better,

but I wouldn't say they're like really like fighting at the front or anything.

V-Carb, I guess, or another midfield team.

Not really seen their their hand.

It feels like yet and Williams may be

still yet to see see what they can do.

So and if you can't ask the Martin as a midfield team,

they are doing obviously incredibly poorly.

So it has to be Haas.

They are definitely the stand out of the midfield quite clearly.

It has to be Haas and question from Dom EFC.

On a scale of one to 10, how cool is Alpine's rear wing?

Very cool.

And it's funny, isn't it?

We said this in when we've kind of talking before that

if that had been Adrian Newey that done that, everyone would be like, wow,

what's that? We need to copy that.

That's amazing.

Whereas it's Alpine.

Everyone's kind of gone, that's pretty cool.

And because it was really fascinating formula one to share the fact that,

you know, the these kind of new wings and how the the kind of active

arrow and stuff and how the the front wing and rear wing goes.

Most of the rear wings look like just DRS of how it did last year.

But Alpine's going basically completely flat is a really interesting take.

And of course, DRS was a system that everyone had to install.

It had to be the exact measurements had to be this, you know,

legal thing that everyone did kind of the same.

Whereas, you know, it is fascinating that teams have that freedom,

whether it will be fascinating when the entire field spread is four and a half

seconds, I don't know, and we'll be praying that for some more simple rules

where we get back to the grid being eight tenths apart.

But it's a very cool little little thing that Alpine have done.

Yeah, I absolutely love the invention.

I think it's a brilliant way of of reinterpreting how, you know,

you can you can open up that rear wing in a way that still fits in with the rules.

If Alpine do not hit 400 kilometers an hour with that Mercedes engine

at some point with the fact there is essentially no rear wing on the back

at Monza or a Baku, I will be thoroughly disappointed.

And I believe it's possible.

It's not, obviously, but it is it's good to see.

And will it give them any kind of advantage where we see other teams

look at other ways of sort of opening that rear wing?

We'll have to wait and see.

But yeah, it's very open to win Monza.

Potentially. Yeah, there you go.

We'll leave it at that.

That's the standard testing delusion that you will know and love.

Tommy, what are your final thoughts?

Final thoughts are very curious tomorrow to see how.

Hopefully I'd like to think that the order is going to get closer and closer.

If we get to the end of day six and we've still got a four second

fuel spread, I'm very concerned.

But yeah, it's been fascinating to see Formula One cars back

and see how these new rules are, even if it does feel like I'm still constantly

learning and we're getting a rule book out every time we see the cars to go.

Oh, there's four different ways to charge the battery and all this kind of stuff.

It's quite a lot to take in.

You know, we're all in the same boat.

Exactly. Learn with P1. Learn along with us.

It's good. I enjoy change.

Just hopefully it's not too complicated.

Right. On that note, we'll see very soon.

Watch along tomorrow if you want to come watch the final day of the first week

of testing in Bahrain along with us on YouTube, Twitch from three till four UK time.

And that's it. See you soon. Bye. Goodbye.

P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST creative network.

F1 Testing 2026 – Day 2

About this episode

Mercedes

Leclerc's performance

Aston Martin

testing time sheet

Ferrari

McLaren

Red Bull

Cadillac

reliability

power

battery

wheel to wheel racing

downshifting

Formula One

Formula 1

Adrian Newey

Struggletown

front wing

rear wing

aerodynamics

DRS

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