Issue #657: Red Renaissance

We begin this week once again in the baking Bahrain heat, as F1 wraps up its second and final week of testing ahead of the season opener in Australia. Jack Oliver Smith took over trackside reporting this week, with James Moy once again capturing the all-important track action in photos. Jack also looks at the growing midfield intrigue for this week’s edition of Start Your Engines, investigating the far from clear picture for the battle to be “best of the rest”. Back to the front of the field, and James Phillips asks whether Ferrari have produced a dark horse in the SF-26, after it once again quietly impressed in Bahrain. Moving to World SBK, Eden Hannigan breaks down all the action from an exciting first race weekend of the season, while Kevin Dejenski introduces us to the rookies set to take the world of IndyCar by storm, including a prestigious name from racing history. Back to Bahrain and James Moy’s photos reveal the varying fortunes of McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin, with the latter enduring a nightmare. And last, but by no means least, Carla’s Corner returns to analyse F1’s Bahrain action in her own inimitable way. As always, we have all the news, views and stories in this week's edition of the most widely read weekly motorsport magazine in the world!