…ON TODAYS PROGRAM…

MAX SAYS THE NEW CARS ARE ANTI-RACING, NOT FUN TO DRIVE FORMULA E ON STEROIDS!!!
LCH SAYS NEW CARS SLOWER THAN GP2!! AAAHHH! AND RIDICULOUSLY COMPLICATED!! THE FANS WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND IT!!!
LANCE STROLL INSISTS ASTON MARTIN 4 SECONDS SLOWER THAN LEADERS…sorry FERNANDO…
ALPINE AND AUDI DISPLAY INTERESTING APPROACH TO REAR WINGS AND SIDE PODS….AND
FERNANDO…THE ASTON. MARTIN CHEF COULD DRIVE THESE CARS!!

THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER…MORE VINTAGE BANTER BETWEEN THE HOST AND NASIR…THIS WEEKS SPECIAL GUEST: MIKA SALO AND PAUL VALLHAUG FROM NORWAY…!

2026 Bahrain Pre-Season Test – Day Three

The Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team has completed its first week of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Lance Stroll returning to the wheel of the AMR26.

Lance headed out on track at approximately 10:30, completing running across both the morning and afternoon sessions, as the team focused on aero mapping as well as low and high fuel runs. He completed a total of 72 laps during the day.

Across the three days in Bahrain, the AMR26 completed a total of 206 laps between Lance and Fernando, allowing the team to gather valuable data during the opening week of testing. The drivers will return to the cockpit next week for the second phase of testing, before final preparations begin for Melbourne.

Mike Krack

“After completing the shakedown in Barcelona, we have now finished our first test of the new season. We ran into some issues earlier in the week, and that’s exactly why we go testing – especially with new regulations. This whole package is very fresh, so it takes time to understand all the different elements and identify where we need to improve. A big thank you to the entire team for the hours worked across the three days of testing. We are realistic in knowing that there is a lot of performance still to unlock in this package, and it is important that we analyse all of our learnings ahead of next week.

Williams F1 team 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing – Day 3

Alex Albon: We knew it was going to be a challenging three days getting up to speed and starting to understand the new car and regulations. The positive is that we got quite a few laps under our belt and the car seems reliable, which is never easy for the first week of testing. On my side, getting to grips with a new car has been a challenge, but I am enjoying the intricacies of it. There’s a lot of improvement to be done and a lot to learn to bring a better package for the next round of testing, so it will be a busy next week of really digging in to the data.

Carlos Sainz: Overall, it’s been good to test the car properly these past days and be able to do as many laps as we have done. We are still playing catch up on certain things, but doing over 210 laps has given me a much better understanding of what we can expect this year. The cars feel very different and it’s going to be a challenging season, but this is nothing new and I’m up for the challenge. It’s still early days to discuss performance in detail and compare ourselves to our direct competitors, but it is clear that the gap between teams is not as tight as last year, at least not for now. What is important for me is that we have identified the main areas we want to focus on in the upcoming weeks and I hope that we can improve gradually as we get closer to Melbourne. There is a lot of work ahead of us as a team so there is no time to lose.

Théophile Nael leads the way on the final day of the Barcelona F3 pre-season test

Campos Racing’s Théophile Nael finished with the fastest lap on the final day of the Barcelona pre-season test, completing a 1:27.525 in the morning session when times were at their quickest.

In the afternoon, it was Gerrard Xie who ended up at the top of the leaderboard with a 1:29.676 for DAMS Lucas Oil.

MORNING
Similar to Day 2, the teams started with Qualifying runs on old Hard tyres, but before the first set of laps could be completed, the Red Flags were out with James Wharton stuck in gravel between Turns 7 and 8.

However, once the PREMA Racing driver was back in the pitlane, action resumed and Patrick Heuzenroeder went fastest with a 1:29.354.

The drivers then had new tyres fitted to their cars for their next set of laps, and this time it was Noah Stromsted on top by just 0.034s to Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu, with a 1:27.620.

Ugochukwu improved on his next attempt, but still wound up in second place, cutting the gap to the TRIDENT driver to just 0.020s, while teammate Théophile Nael moved up to third ahead of Freddie Slater.

With the majority of the field back in the pitlane, Nael returned to the track for more shot at a Qualifying lap and completed a 1:27.525 to go fastest by just 0.095s.

The teams then turned their attentions to long run performance, meaning that no one bettered Nael, who led the way ahead of Stromsted, Ugochukwu, Slater and Brando Badoer in the morning.

AFTERNOON
Long runs kicked off the afternoon session with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny setting the early pace with a 1:32.430.

That time was then beaten by Rodin Motorsport’s Brando Badoer as the session approached the 40-minute mark, and just before José Garfias stopped on track at Turn 6, bringing out the Red Flags.

Once the session resumed, AIX Racing went to the top of the leaderboard, with Brad Benavides’ 1:31.573 putting him ahead of Fernando Barrichello by 0.115s.

Running was paused once again just as the second hour was about to start, with Slater having stopped on track at Turn 12, causing the marshals to wave the Red Flags.

Race runs resumed as the drivers looked to make the most of the track time before the test ended. However, Fionn McLaughlin then got stuck in the gravel trap at the final corner, leading to another Red Flag stoppage.

Green flags were waved with over an hour to go in the day, with long run mileage still the top priority. However, heading into the final 30 minutes, Brando Badoer and then Matteo De Palo went quickest.

The TRIDENT driver completed a 1:30.910, which was over half a second quicker than Hitech’s Tim Tramnitz.

DAMS Lucas Oil then went faster with just over five minutes to go, Nicola Lacorte leading the way with a 1:29.676, over half a second faster than teammate Gerrard Xie.

There were no further improvements for the rest of the session, with Lacorte on top ahead of Xie, De Palo, Tramnitz and Badoer.

That wraps up pre-season testing with the drivers next out on track at Round 1 in Melbourne from March 6-8.

2026 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA CIRCUIT, PRE-SEASON TESTING: DAY 3, MORNING SESSION

DRIVER

LICENCE

TEAM

LAPTIME

LAPS

Theophile Nael

FRA

Campos Racing

1:27.525

Noah Stromste

DEN

TRIDENT

1:27.620

Ugo Ugochukwu

USA

Campos Racing

1:27.640

Freddie Slater

GBR

TRIDENT

1:27.724

Brando Badoer

ITA

Rodin Motorsport

1:27.891

Patrick Heuzenroeder

AUS

Campos Racing

1:27.926

Brad Benavides

USA

AIX Racing

1:27.979

Tuukka Taponen

FIN

MP Motorsport

1:28.075

Louis Sharp

NZL

PREMA Racing

1:28.085

Nicola Lacorte

ITA

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:28.090

Taito Kato

JPN

ART Grand Prix

1:28.120

Christian Ho

SGP

Rodin Motorsport

1:28.132

Jin Nakamura

JPN

Hitech

1:28.144

Pedro Clerot

BRA

Rodin Motorsport

1:28.164

Tim Tramnitz

GER

Hitech

1:28.165

Maciej Gladysz

POL

ART Grand Prix

1:28.183

Matteo De Palo

ITA

TRIDENT

1:28.286

Enzo Deligny

FRA

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:28.315

James Wharton

AUS

PREMA Racing

1:28.338

Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi

THA

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:28.343

Kanato Le

JPN

ART Grand Prix

1:28.367

Yevan David

SRI

AIX Racing

1:28.409

Fernando Barrichello

BRA

AIX Racing

1:28.463

Alessandro Giusti

FRA

MP Motorsport

1:28.463

Hiyu Yamakoshi

JPN

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:28.482

Fionn Mclaughlin

IRL

Hitech

1:28.562

Jose Garfias

MEX

PREMA Racing

1:28.586

Bruno Del Pino

ESP

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:28.590

Mattia Colnaghi

ARG

MP Motorsport

1:28.965

Gerrard Xie

CHN

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:28.976

2026 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA CIRCUIT, PRE-SEASON TESTING: DAY 3, AFTERNOON SESSION

DRIVER

LICENCE

TEAM

LAPTIME

LAPS

Nicola Lacorte

ITA

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:29.676

Gerrard Xie

CHN

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:30.275

Matteo De Palo

ITA

TRIDENT

1:30.910

Tim Tramnitz

GER

Hitech

1:31.285

Brando Badoer

ITA

Rodin Motorsport

1:31.473

Brad Benavides

USA

AIX Racing

1:31.573

Fernando Barrichello

BRA

AIX Racing

1:31.688

Noah Stromsted

DEN

TRIDENT

1:31.717

Ugo Ugochukwu

USA

Campos Racing

1:31.806

Christian Ho

SGP

Rodin Motorsport

1:31.997

Yevan David

SRI

AIX Racing

1:32.052

Theophile Nael

FRA

Campos Racing

1:32.230

Freddie Slater

GBR

TRIDENT

1:32.370

Jose Garfias

MEX

PREMA Racing

1:32.413

Tuukka Taponen

FIN

MP Motorsport

1:32.415

Enzo Deligny

FRA

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:32.430

Taito Kato

JPN

ART Grand Prix

1:32.476

Maciej Gladysz

POL

ART Grand Prix

1:32.488

Pedro Clerot

BRA

Rodin Motorsport

1:32.499

Hiyu Yamakoshi

JPN

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:32.502

Fionn Mclaughlin

IRL

Hitech

1:32.608

Patrick Heuzenroeder

AUS

Campos Racing

1:32.644

Alessandro Giusti

FRA

MP Motorsport

1:32.660

Bruno Del Pino

SPN

Van Amersfoort Racing

1:32.704

Mattia Colnaghi

ARG

MP Motorsport

1:32.974

Kanato Le

JPN

ART Grand Prix

1:32.995

Louis Sharp

NLZ

PREMA Racing

1:33.058

Jin Nakamura

JPN

Hitech

1:33.181

James Wharton

AUS

PREMA Racing

1:33.199

Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi

THA

DAMS Lucas Oil

1:33.742

YUKI TSUNODA STARS IN SHOWPIECE SAN FRANCISCO SHOWRUN

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Yuki Tsunoda of Japan seen during the Red Bull Unserious Race Series at the Erzberg in Eisenerz, Austria on June 13, 2023. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202306270329 // Usage for editorial use only //

RED BULL’S TEST AND RESERVE DRIVER HEADLINES SAN FRANCISCO SHOWRUN ON MARINA BOULEVARD.Red Bull’s Test and Reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda is set for an epic blast by the bay, with the century-plus Grands Prix starter topping an all-star bill as the Showrun, presented by Ford Racing, brings Formula One thunder to the streets of San Francisco on 21 February.Yuki will bring his ferocious pace and five years of F1 experience to the city’s Marina Boulevard as he pushes the iconic title-winning RB7 to the limit around the streets of San Francisco.As shoreline becomes racing line for one sizzling Saturday of motorsport action, Yuki will be joined by a host of talent from all over the racing sphere.Ford Racing Off-Road star Mitch Guthrie will put the Dakar Rally-conquering Ford Raptor T1+ through its paces, former F1 driver Scott Speed will take a Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 car around Marina Boulevard and Freestyle Motorcross hero Aaron Colton will take to the San Francisco skies.The Bay Area will also get to see a range of exceptional vehicles with the Mustang GT3 endurance racer and the spectacular F-150 Lightning Supertruck on show.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN – FEBRUARY 13: Liam Lawson of New Zealand driving the (30) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls VCARB 03 RB Ford on track during day three of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on February 13, 2026 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202602132387 // Usage for editorial use only //

Visa Cash Ap Racing Bulls Bahrain testing.

Alan Permane TEAM PRINCIPAL

We’ve had a productive week this week, spending it learning as much as we can about the chassis, the power unit, the performance and how they all integrate. Like everyone in the paddock at this stage, we’ve encountered a few teething issues, adjusting settings and uncovering the unexpected, but that’s all part of the process and without reliability, there’s no foundation for performance. We’re on a steep learning curve and every time the car leaves the garage, we make improvements. I’d say from where we were at the start of Barcelona, to where we are today, is night and day.

The power unit has been mightily impressive. We’ve concentrated on mileage over performance, running high-fuel programmes and making chassis adjustments where we can. We had a couple of reliability issues, which cost us some track time. However, we made significant improvements in the operation and the integration across the power unit, the chassis particularly with gear shifts and starts, where all these functions have vastly improved.

The next stage will all be fine tuning and that process will continue through the season. The important thing is that we’re building a strong baseline and putting solutions in place ahead of Melbourne. We’ll continue pushing reliability in next week’s test, while starting to shift a little more focus towards performance.

Looking forward to seeing you all again next week. Enjoy your weekend in between.
Thanks,
Alan

…ON TODAYS PROGRAM…

THIS WEEK’S NASIR HAMEED CORNER…MORE VINTAGE BANTER BETWEEN THE HOST AND NASIR…THIS WEEKS SPECIAL GUEST: MIKA SALO AND PAUL VALLHAUG FROM NORWAY…!

2026 Bahrain Pre-Season Test – Day Three

Mike Krack

Williams F1 team 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing – Day 3

Théophile Nael leads the way on the final day of the Barcelona F3 pre-season test

YUKI TSUNODA STARS IN SHOWPIECE SAN FRANCISCO SHOWRUN

Visa Cash Ap Racing Bulls Bahrain testing.

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