F1 fans mock 2026 driver photoshoot - 'it's Storage Wars'

Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, Audi, Aston Martin, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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'Storage Wars F1' - Fans mock 2026 driver photoshoot

Being the most glamorous sport in the world...sometimes you just get tired

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 11 February 2026 22:42

There comes a time where one must sacrifice style for the elasticated waist, adidas for Skechers and such like. For F1, that time came today.

Throughout its 76-year history F1 has been the paragon of sporting glamour, from Graham Hill's pencil moustache to Lewis Hamilton's diamond earrings. But, sometimes maintaining the façade of beauty is exhausting, and for one year we will forgive Formula 1.

Pre-season testing in Bahrain doesn't just signal the first appearance of aero rakes and flow-vis. No, the drivers also have pesky media duties to perform, like figuring out their favourite shape of pasta for the team's social media and smiling through the pain of Mercedes' engine advantage.

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Amongst these commitments is the annual driver photoshoot, encompassing all the drivers on the grid in one frightfully awkward picture to be used forevermore by Andrew Benson on his Q&A page.

So, what did F1 have in store for all 22 drivers in 2026? A moody shot in the haze of the Bahrain desert? Something sleek and impressive to kick off the new era. Not quite. Instead, prepare to be disappointed.

F1 2026, but make it Storage Wars

The F1 grid were summoned to a garage in Bahrain, where some were told to sit astride some metallic cubes while others were forced to plonk their derrière on the floor.

Needless to say, the environment didn't reflect the status of the 22 best drivers in the world, with a floor that looked like it hadn't been swept and as much colour as a British kitchen sink drama.

While this setting may have been a backdrop for the tech wizards to wave that magic AI wand, and is by no means the finished product, it nonetheless left F1 fans uninspired.

Some fans compared the photoshoot to reality TV, where one wrote: "Storage Wars F1' and another added 'Warehouse F1'.

Another posted a compare and contrast image of last year's sleek shoot, compared to the garage shoot, and wrote: "They put no effort this year, I'm crying."

Underneath, one user commented: "I wonder if the extra-ness last year was all for the 75th anniversary and so this year they lowkey just got tired."

Another lamented about what we're yet to see, and wrote: "What AI horror are they going to generate."

One noticed the mess on the floor and wrote: "Can they like, sweep the floor first."

F1 TESTING 2026: Bahrain schedule, start times and how to watch live