The Race F1 Podcast

Ferrari ended testing on top courtesy of a Charles Leclerc flyer at the end of the final day of running in Bahrain. But who is really the pace-setter heading to Melbourne, and how did Aston Martin somehow manage to have its worst day yet of a nightmare pre-season? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm and Samarth Kanal to answer those questions and sum up each team's start to 2026.

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Ferrari was talk of the paddock on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain with its 'upside-down' rear wing. So what’s that design about and is it legal? And just how strong is the Prancing Horse looking in terms of performance?

Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm, with special contributions from technical expert Gary Anderson, to answer those questions, and get into the other big talking points from Thursday, which included the teams partaking in lower power trials.

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It was George Russell in the upgraded Mercedes on top on the first day of the final Bahrain pre-season test as the lap times continued to drop. But what impact could the looming compression ratio saga resolution have on it, and how did the experimental start procedure trialled at the end of the day play out? Edd Straw is joined by Scott Mitchell-Malm to review another gripping day of running, and run the rule over every team on track.

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We reveal every team’s top priority for the final three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain in the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast. Scott Mitchell-Malm and Samarth Kanal join Edd Straw to work through the 11 teams and what we need to see from them to be sure they are in the best possible place for the start of the season.

We discuss the off-track challenge for Mercedes, McLaren’s game of catch-up and Ferrari’s need to build on promising signs. The impressive start made by the Red Bull Powertrains engine, and how Racing Bulls appears to be struggling to make the most of it is also tackled, along with the form of fellow newcomer Audi. And the struggles of Aston Martin are again in the spotlight.

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People in F1 have long talked about finding ‘the unfair advantage’, but sometimes the line between clever thinking and outright cheating is not easy to see - as Damon Hill and Mark Hughes discuss on the latest episode of The Undercut.

The engine compression saga that’s engulfed F1 ahead of the 2026 season is the latest scenario where a team looks to have found a loophole in the F1 regulations - but should Mercedes be congratulated for what is undoubtedly clever engineering or should the FIA always look to curb any advantage that could be said to go against the spirit of the regulations?

Mark and Damon discuss this and other 'grey area' scenarios in what is a typically wide-ranging and free-flowing conversation.

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