Testing

Teams can only test their current car on track at a handful of official tests each year. Almost all running outside a race weekend is banned, so most development happens in the factory, in the wind tunnel and on the simulator.

It wasn't always like this. In the 2000s the big teams ran test teams of their own and covered tens of thousands of kilometres a year. In-season testing was cut back sharply from 2009 to save money, and it has stayed that way.

#Pre-season testing

This is the main chance teams get to run their new car before the first race. The sporting regulations allow:

• one private test of five days in January, of which each team can use three
• two public tests of three days each in February, finishing at least a week before the first race

Each team can only run one car at a time, so the two race drivers usually split the days between them.

In 2026, with all-new cars and engines, the first test was a private shakedown at Barcelona at the end of January, with no TV coverage and no public timing. The two public tests were both held in Bahrain in February.

Testing times are interesting but don't read too much into them. Teams run different fuel loads, engine modes and tyres, and some deliberately hide their pace. The useful things to watch are reliability (how many laps each car manages) and how stable the car looks in the corners.

#The post-season test

The day after the last race, teams stay on at the same circuit for one day of testing. Each team runs two cars: one for its regular drivers to try the tyres planned for next year, and one for a young driver who has started no more than two Grands Prix.

#Tyre tests

Pirelli needs to test its tyres in real F1 cars, so the regulations allow up to 40 car days a year of tyre testing organised by the FIA and Pirelli. Teams volunteer to run, and the drivers have to be experienced F1 drivers. The teams don't see the details of what's being tested, and the running is meant to help Pirelli, not the team's own car development. If a tyre test is held at a circuit on the calendar, it has to come after that year's race there.

#Testing of previous cars (TPC)

Teams can also run older cars, from the 2022 to 2025 seasons, in what's called testing of previous cars or TPC. This is popular for giving young and reserve drivers seat time, and for getting a new signing used to the team.

The limits for each team are:

• 20 days of TPC a year
• one car per day
• at most 1,000 km in total for its current race drivers, spread over no more than four days

TPC can't be held at a circuit within 60 days of the Grand Prix there, and the tyres are special ones made by Pirelli just for these tests. Because the cars are older designs, the running is mostly useful for driver preparation rather than finding car performance.

#Filming days and demonstrations

Each team is also allowed two promotional days a year with its current car, mainly for filming adverts and social media content. Each one is limited to 200 km and has to use special tyres made for the purpose, and the FIA can send an observer. With so little track time available, teams make the most of these days, which is why the FIA keeps a close eye on them.

Demonstration runs, such as a car doing laps at a festival or on a city street, are allowed too, but they aren't proper testing.

#The simulator

Because track time is so limited, every team has a driver-in-the-loop simulator at its factory. Reserve drivers often spend race weekends there, running set-up changes overnight and feeding the results back to the team at the track. See rookies and reserve drivers.