Drivers are getting more time behind the wheel this week at the first Bahrain pre-season test.

Lewis Hamilton drove for Ferrari in the first session of Bahrain testing on Wednesday (Image: Getty)

Lewis Hamilton has claimed the new generation of Formula 1 cars “feel” slower than even Formula 2 machinery. The seven-time world champion has only had a limited amount of time behind the wheel of his new Ferrari up to now, having driven just a couple of laps at their Fiorano test track before a shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January.

But he was able to put in a few more hours on Wednesday as the first official pre-season test finally got under way. Hamilton was the driver chosen by Ferrari to get behind the wheel of the SF-26 for the morning session at the Bahrain International Circuit and, afterwards, told gathered reporters that, while it is “a more fun car to drive”, he still has reservations.

The Brit, who also had a minor spin during the four-hour session, said: “It’s a lot less downforce. The car is shorter, it’s lighter, and it’s actually easier to catch. It’s quite fun, it’s like rallying a lot. Yeah, I think we’re slower than GP2 [F2], right now, right? I mean, it does feel like that.”

Hamilton’s words echoed those from Lando Norris only a few days ago, as the reigning world champion reflected on his own early experiences of the 2026 car. Speaking as McLaren unveiled the livery for the MCL40, the 26-year-old said: “It certainly feels like an F2 car in some ways with how you have to drive it.

Lando Norris has also made the comparison to F2 machinery (Image: Getty)

“I don’t know if I like that or not, for the time being. But I think we understood quite a few things already from Barcelona on how you had to drive the car. But Barcelona, you’re talking about fourth-gear corners, third-gear corners, quite open, quite wide. When you get to a street track or bumpier tracks, slower tracks, that’s a question we’re yet to answer.

“Bahrain will answer some of those questions. It will be a learning curve. But I have strong confidence in myself and strong confidence in my team. But it will be a learning curve for both of us as it will for everyone on the grid.”

Of the 11 drivers who hit the track bright and early on Wednesday, Max Verstappen set the benchmark time of 1:35.433, completing 65 laps. Oscar Piastri was second, less than two-tenths of a second behind having completed 11 laps fewer, while George Russell in third was nearly seven-tenths away and Hamilton exactly a second slower in fourth.

Timings at this stage, though, are largely meaningless given team will be executing vastly different run plans to assess both performance and reliability, meaning a fast lap is very low down the order of priorities. Plus, no-one will be too willing to show their hand at this stage with five more full days of testing still to come over the next two weeks.