The Formula 1 pre-season tests in Bahrain are fast approaching, and the session start times for next month have now been confirmed.
The new 2026 cars will hit the track for the first time in just over a week at the circuit near Barcelona, though these initial shakedowns will be held behind closed doors. Each team must select three days out of a total of five to run between January 26th and 30th.
During these private sessions, the cars will undergo their initial trials before heading to Bahrain for the first official test of the year.
The first Bahrain test is scheduled from February 11th to 13th, with track action commencing at 10:00 AM local time, which is 9:00 AM in Sofia.
Each test day will span nine hours, concluding at 7:00 PM local time (6:00 PM Bulgarian time).
The final test before the season's opening round will take place from February 18th to 20th, with the same session timings as the preceding week.