Formula 1 News: Big four teams still clear as 2026 gap widens

(GMM) The established ‘big four’ teams appear to have stretched their advantage under Formula 1’s new 2026 regulations, according to several midfield drivers after pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Speaking as the clock to Melbourne ticks down, Franco Colapinto said it was no surprise to see McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull at the front – but the margin was eye-opening.

“We already knew the four at the front were going to be fast,” the Alpine driver said. “Sometimes the difference surprises you because when you say that all the teams have been developing the car since January 1 and you see that there is a two-second difference, you wonder how it can be.

“But it’s the philosophy of each team.

“They have been working in a certain way for many years, the wind tunnels are the best, the engineers too, so it is a combination of things that keeps these structures constantly at the top.”

Williams’ Carlos Sainz agreed, suggesting the 2026 rule overhaul has not delivered the reset some hoped for.

“To be very frank, that step forward isn’t likely to happen anytime soon,” he said. “The initial impression from testing is that the top four teams from last year are even better than they were last year, while the midfield is even more midfield than it was last year.

“Unfortunately, I think the rule change has widened the gap between teams, as often happens,” he told Soy Motor. “We thought we could close that gap with a rule change, but perhaps it has exposed exactly the areas where we’re still not at the level we need to be.

Colapinto’s teammate Pierre Gasly set a clear target for the year ahead.

“The goal is to close the gap to the top four teams,” he said. “The important thing is to demonstrate a level of performance that allows us to regularly compete in good positions.

“We’re up against very experienced teams – Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari. We don’t necessarily have that recent experience.”

Even further back, the newly Honda-powered Aston Martin’s struggles have raised eyebrows in the paddock.

Editor’s Note: Former Red Bull boss Christian Horner described Adrian Newey as an artist on a podcast in 2021. Horner said that there would be no point in asking Newey to manage a team as it would be chaos. So what did the Aston Martin team do? They put Newey in charge of the team – he is the Team Principal – and so far it is complete chaos.

Colapinto admitted he was surprised.

“Aston Martin surprised me a lot – we’ll see how they do in Australia, but they surprised in a different way,” he said.

Former F1 team boss Franz Tost also questioned Aston Martin’s form.

“It’s strange,” he told Kronen Zeitung. “The engines haven’t changed that much.”