Early pre-season testing is forcing teams to rush their 2026 cars

17:30, 18 Nov

byDrew Murphy

Due to FIA's new regulations for 2026 and an earlier testing session, Formula 1 teams are rushing to finalise their cars in time.

"All the people you see here (at the track) are pretty much going to finish in Abu Dhabi, go home, say hi to their families at Christmas, and then they're going to be back in the factory building cars to go testing again."

- Steve Nielsen

With the final races of the 2025 season coming quick and fast, every team is working tirelessly behind the scenes to prepare for the next generation of Formula 1.

All teams have the dream of outsmarting the rest and building the fastest car on the grid come 2026.

2026 F1 car's rendering by the FIA - Image: FIA

The new regulations set by the FIA mean the cars will undergo a major technical overhaul, including the chassis and power units.

Pre-season testing begins on 26 January in Barcelona, a month earlier than last year, so teams are scrambling to finalise designs and build their cars sooner than before.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen said: “I was in the factory last week, and I saw the chassis. That's much earlier than I've experienced before.

“Normally, the chassis is something that appears around late December, early January. So, it's all much earlier, because our first test is in week three in January.

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen. Photo: Race Pictures

“So, all the people you see here (at the track) are pretty much going to finish in Abu Dhabi, go home, say hi to their families at Christmas, and then they're going to be back in the factory building cars to go testing again.

"The sum of all of that is quite a lot of pressure, not only on Enstone, but also on the whole of Formula 1, because the winter is shorter than it's been for a long time.”

Nielsen explained Alpine’s timeline for its 2026 car, as F1 teams are required to pass FIA crash tests to homologate their new chassis.

“The car will exist in one piece, not finished, but it will exist in one piece, I would say, by mid-December, because it's going to have to be on a track three weeks later.

“We've got Christmas in the middle of that. So, if you go round the factory now, the chassis is there, although it's not painted, of course, it's not machined yet.

“We've got the crash test, which is a big milestone, in two or three weeks. But every machine in the factory is making bits for ’26 cars.”

The 2026 Formula 1 season kicks off with testing in a private session in Barcelona on 26-30 January, before we head to Bahrain for two further sessions on 11-13 February and 18-20 February.

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