Tiempo de definiciones (SPA-ENG)

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Novedades técnicas y deportivas hay en todos los equipos, seguramente estaremos hablando de ello en el futuro. Quizás una de las más importantes haya sido la declaración de Fernando Alonso respecto a que al motor Honda le falta más desarrollo, algo que sorprende un tanto y que desilusiona en parte a los fanáticos de Aston Martin, aunque deberemos tomar sus declaraciones con cautela, nadie descubre sus cartas antes del comienzo del juego. El vehículo luce espectacular y tiene muchas novedades y soluciones salidas de la mente y el tablero de dibujo de Adrian Newey, quien por otra parte ha mencionado a la prensa que su equipo tiene la mejor estructura de toda la F1.

Mañana seguramente comenzaremos a ver el verdadero potencial de cada escudería, sus virtudes e inconvenientes, en una situación inusual donde la incertidumbre es la moneda corriente gracias a los grandes cambios promovidos por un reglamento tan radical como novedoso.

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Time for decisions

My grandmother used to say that time doesn't run; it flies; she was absolutely right, and everyone realizes this as they get older. A truism, indeed.

But I'm not here to talk about time or people's ages, but about Formula 1; what seemed so far off at the end of the 2025 season, with Lando Norris's victory and the fabulous McLaren, is now "just around the corner." Tomorrow, the first of two official test sessions for the pinnacle of motorsport begins at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

The first tests will take place between February 11th and 13th, and the following week, between the 18th and 20th, the final tests will be held before the season opener scheduled for the weekend of March 6th-8th in Australia. The schedule will be from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 17:00 (Bahrain local time) with a one-hour lunch break.

It has been mentioned that all teams will be present this time, including Williams, who missed the first test in Barcelona in January, prompting several comments, mostly discouraging, regarding the serious problems and lack of development their car was experiencing. We'll see how much truth there is to this and how much progress they've made in the intervening time; we just have to wait one more day to find out what to expect.

For the first time, we have several official test sessions before the start of the annual calendar. This is because the 2026 regulations have brought about such a profound change that everyone needs to test their solutions more thoroughly than usual, especially when cars don't have many innovations but rather retain much of what was used in the previous season.

One of the things that stands out in the lead-up to these tests is the selection of tires chosen by the different teams; this partly reveals the type of test they are focusing their strategies on and what configurations they will use, something worth analyzing in depth.

Cadillac made its official debut during the Super Bowl, and it was spectacular, with its full livery revealed—no more all-black like it was during testing at Montmeló.

There are technical and sporting innovations across all the teams, and we'll surely be discussing them in the future. Perhaps one of the most significant was Fernando Alonso's statement that the Honda engine needs further development, something that is somewhat surprising and partly disappointing for Aston Martin fans. However, we should take his statements with a grain of salt; no one reveals their hand before the race even begins. The car looks spectacular and boasts many innovations and solutions from the mind and drawing board of Adrian Newey, who, incidentally, has told the press that his team has the best structure in all of F1.

Tomorrow, we will surely begin to see the true potential of each team, their strengths and weaknesses, in an unusual situation where uncertainty is the norm, thanks to the major changes brought about by such radical and innovative regulations.