Here is Your First Onboard Look At The New Technology Of System 1 Vehicles

System 1 will return to racing for the 2026 season in slightly below a month’s time, bringing with it a totally new set of engine and chassis laws. There isn’t any telling precisely what meaning by way of shaking up the efficiency, as we’ve not but discovered which groups and drivers will adapt finest to the modifications. Whereas F1 held a personal take a look at at Barcelona a few weeks in the past, Wednesday marked the primary official day of testing out there for the general public to look at. This official onboard video is our first actual indication of what the vehicles are able to and the way they work.

Our first onboard of 2026! ?

Leap aboard Lando Norris’ McLaren as he set the quickest time of day one ?#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/DjP6D5fbuc

— System 1 (@F1) February 11, 2026

Lando Norris set the quickest lap of the day in Bahrain, placing a 1 minute 34.669 second run on the desk. That put him simply over a tenth faster than Max Verstappen’s Purple Bull Ford, and half a second up on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. I would not learn an excessive amount of into the operating order simply but, as there may be nonetheless loads of sandbagging happening out on track, and the occasions do not inform the complete image of  variables like tire compound or gas load. I would say that it’s kind of eye-opening how sluggish that point is, although.

We at all times knew the 2026 vehicles can be slower than the 2025 spec, due to a major discount in downforce and a wholesale change to how the drivetrains make energy. Even nonetheless, Oscar Piastri’s 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix pole place time was simply shy of 5 seconds faster than his McLaren teammate managed on Wednesday.

On Norris’ finest lap he did not even handle three quick sectors, operating slower than his private finest in sector one, so there’s undoubtedly some extra time left on the desk within the McLaren than what’s on show on this lap.

First up, there may be nonetheless a little bit of the bouncing at velocity on the primary straight that was a signature of the outgoing laws. With the FIA all however abolishing floor impact downforce, the vehicles ought to be operating slightly increased and fewer porpoising will happen. That is borne out in the truth that we do not hear the McLaren bottoming out whereas at velocity.

Due to the way in which System 1 vehicles make energy in 2026, cut up about 50/50 between the gasoline engine and the electrical hybrid unit, the vehicles appear to be operating out of steam partway down most of the longer straights on the Bahrain monitor. That is one other factor for drivers to handle, and an aerodynamic slipstream plus a well-timed vitality deployment may very well be fairly efficient for overtaking maneuvers.

Almost unanimously, the drivers appear to agree that this set of laws results in a looser driving expertise and lots of of them have indicated they discover the driving extra enjoyable. With a bit extra sliding round on monitor and fewer reliance on aerodynamic downforce, the drivers will truly be compelled to drive once more, as an alternative of piloting. This sport will at all times demand inch-perfect inputs, however it appears the driving force is extra plugged in than latest seasons.

Do not forget that Carlos Sainz set the quickest lap of pre-season testing in 2025so take all of this as flippantly as you need. We’ll have to attend and see what occurs in Australia subsequent month, however for now, I am intrigued.

As talked about earlier than, it is nonetheless pre-season testing, so we should always take plenty of what’s occurred as politicking and gamesmanship. Listed here are among the takeaways from day one among testing that stood out to me.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes, primarily based on his studying of telemetrythat Purple Bull have discovered as a lot as one second per lap, due to its extremely highly effective Purple Bull Ford engine. Max was almost six miles per hour faster in the primary straight velocity lure than his Mercedes rivals, clocking a 209.02 mile per hour run versus George Russell’s 203.5. Utilizing the identical powertrain, rookie Arvin Lindblad within the sister crew Racing Bulls was proper behind Max with a 204.8 mph lure.

Max Verstappen was experimenting with extra violent downshifting, as a way to spin the engine at increased revs below braking and maximize vitality restoration. With the removing of the previous MGU-H system and a brand new extra highly effective MGU-Ok system, holding vitality within the system is significant to turning a quick lap.

Regardless of not having their automobile prepared in time for the sooner Barcelona take a look at, Williams Grand Prix confirmed up able to rumble in Bahrain. Nonetheless setting occasions within the backside half of the grid, each Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon managed to place in some critical time behind the wheel with 77 and 68 laps respectively, extra laps than every other crew.

On the different finish of that desk was Aston Martin, which noticed solely 36 laps on monitor in suits and begins. The model new Honda engine appeared to be overheating considerably, and wasn’t producing almost as a lot velocity as Lance Stroll’s quickest lap was greater than 5 seconds off the tempo of the lead McLaren.