ALEX ALBON SAYS 'A LOT' OF LAP TIME STILL UNTAPPED IN 2026 CARS

The 2026 cars may already be evolving rapidly, but Alex Albon believes the stopwatch is still hiding plenty of untapped potential.

Following the conclusion of the pre-season tests, several of the drivers have confirmed clear progress in driving dynamics as they’ve grown familiar with the new regulations, but there’s still a lot of performance to be unlocked.

Alex Albon: There’s a lot of lap time still to be gained

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The cars are fundamentally different in F1 2026, with the introduction of active aerodynamics coinciding with a revolutionary new engine formula that increases the level of electrification to a near 50/50 split with the internal combustion engine.

This electrification aspect has had a profound effect on the driving requirements for the new cars, with energy management now a vital tool for drivers to figure out in order to maximise lap time and harvesting for the best possible deployment of the 350kW of energy.

This led to the drivers confirming that some unusual and unnatural techniques are needed at this early stage, such as downshifting down the straights, and greater periods of lift-and-coast, in order to ensure there is sufficient energy harvested.

Testing saw the teams work hard on understanding these requirements and on how best to harvest and deploy energy in the cars that are, at this early stage in the regulation cycle, energy-starved.

While efficiency gains and improving technology should reduce the extremities of these demands over the five-year rule cycle, some of the drivers said there has already been clear progress found between the start and conclusion of testing.

At the end of testing, the fastest time from Bahrain was just 2.6 seconds shy of the fastest time set in 2025, the final year of the previous regulation cycle, although tyre deltas push this gap out to a little over three seconds – still an impressive display given the newness and complexity of the regulations.

Asked by PlanetF1.com where the greatest gains have come from, Williams driver Alex Albon said there is still quite a bit of ultimate performance to unlock.

“I think there’s still a lot to learn,” he said.

“Obviously, I missed out on the first week, so I don’t know how raw they felt in week one, but there’s still clearly a lot of lap time to be gained in drivability, gear shifts, and driving as well.

“It’s not close to where it was last year in terms of that feeling, but it’s getting there, and I think, by just like the development of the car, development of drivability, and things like this, it will be improved quickly throughout the season.”

Mercedes’ George Russell, who has previously downplayed concerns that the new regulations are leading to characteristics that are the antithesis of what feels natural for a racing driver, said the rate of improvement is vast at this point.

“There has been a lot of progression, to be honest,” he said.

“I think every day you face a new set of regulations, you face challenges that you weren’t anticipating, and the rate of improvement is very steep in those early days.

“This test has been a much smoother test for everyone. If you actually look at the lap times on some of the race runs, the cars aren’t actually a million miles away from the lap times we were seeing 12 months ago, and that was year four of a set of regulations.

“So I know there was a lot of heat after Barcelona and Bahrain, which was probably a little bit premature.

“I think, on the whole, people are a bit happier this week.”

More on the F1 2026 regulations

Alex Albon plays down F1 2026 start ‘chaos’ ahead of Melbourne

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Oscar Piastri: All teams have found performance

Appearing in the press conference on the final day of Bahrain testing, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri appeared less certain on the positive aspects unlocked during the three weeks of testing.

“It’s definitely been a learning curve. There are still some things that we need to do as drivers that are certainly very different from what we had to do last year,” he said.

“But I think the kind of optimisation around driving that way, you know, firstly, as drivers, I think we’re getting our heads around the new things we need to do, and, as teams, making accommodations for having to drive a certain way now.

“So I think it has improved; it still is very different from what we had before, but I think naturally we’ve all probably found performance, and just, with performance, it’s made some creature comforts a little bit nicer as well. So I think we are making progress. Let’s see what Melbourne’s like.”

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto agreed, saying the improvements could be felt on a daily basis throughout testing, suggesting the adjustment will continue for some time into the season.

“It feels different from last year, but I think the progress is, again, very, very steep,” he said.

“From one day to another, things change, and the car is getting quicker, and it’s feeling better.

“So I think, in a few races, we will feel even better than nowadays, and we will start to get more used to it, more comfortable, and quicker.

“I think it’s too early to compare too much to last year, but it’s definitely improving.”

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2026-02-25T12:06:10Z