The winter break is effectively over. More than half of the grid has already unveiled its 2026 challenger, and several teams have completed their first kilometres on track. Yet the moment everyone has been waiting for — seeing the new generation of cars running together — remains frustratingly out of reach.

Anticipation has been building ever since the Abu Dhabi finale brought the ground-effect era to a close. The hope was to finally move beyond simple demo runs and into something meaningful: proper pre-season testing, with real data, real comparisons and real stories to tell.

Instead, Formula 1 has opted to hold the first five-day test in Barcelona entirely behind closed doors, effectively leaving fans in the dark for another two weeks. On top of that, the first of the two Bahrain test sessions will also be partially closed off — a decision that is difficult to justify from a television and broadcast standpoint.

For months, the sport has spoken openly about regulations that are increasingly complex, cars that are harder to understand, and terminology that risks alienating fans. And yet, when the perfect opportunity finally arrives to explain, break down and explore every detail of this new era, the doors remain shut, with the wider audience left in the dark.

Broadcasting only the final hour of testing live feels like little more than a token gesture for a Formula 1 that seems to be leaning ever further into complexity rather than accessibility.

That is especially true in a rare season where fans are finally being given three full test sessions — something that has not happened since the start of the previous regulation cycle.

Full television coverage would have been the logical and fair choice, not just for the Bahrain test but for Barcelona as well. Doing so would only have heightened curiosity around the new cars and provided valuable insight into how they behave once they are all on track together.

More broadly, this ongoing tendency to keep key moments and information under wraps — precisely the aspects that should be explained and dissected in depth — almost creates the impression of uncertainty. It risks sending the message that there is concern things may not unfold as planned, or that the new regulations could fail to deliver.

Excitement is at its peak across the paddock: among drivers, teams, insiders and fans alike. Which ultimately leads to a simple but important question: is it really worth keeping half of pre-season testing reserved for insiders alone?