Last Updated on February 1 2026, 8:36 am

The final day of Barcelona pre-season testing is well under way, but it is taking place without Mercedes and the Racing Bulls. Both these teams have completed their three day allocation of track time allowed by the FIA across the five days this week at there Circuit de Catalunya.

Whilst the much anticipated Aston Martin finally stuttered into life on day 4 before breaking down after just a handful of laps, Mercedes were completing an impressive day with George Russell racking up 77 laps compared to his junior team mates 90.

Across their allocated days, the Mercedes drivers combined have clocked 502 laps and some 2338 kilometres. Thats the equivalent of almost eight full Grand Prix races which with an all new powertrain and chassis is impressive indeed. By comparison, the Racing Bulls managed 319 laps across their three day allocation.

 

 

 

Bookies make Russell F1 favourite for 2026

During the Formula One ground effect era (2022-2025) Mercedes struggled to adapt to the regulations which relied on the underfloor for around 50% pot the cars downforce, but as the 2026 competition looms their W17 challenger may be the car to beat.

A quick glance at the bookmakers odds on which driver will win the 2026 championship, sees almost unanimity amongst the gambling web sites that George Russell is the favourite at around 7/2. For no reason other than he is a generational talent, Max Verstappen is close behind Russell (7/4) but a long way back in third is Lando Norris priced at 7/1.

And given the data and mileage clocked in the Iberian peninsular this week, there’s little to argue with the bookmakers, although of course the proof of the pudding will come when the cars hit the circuit in anger down under in Melbourne at the beginning of March.

Veteran F1 racer and Sky pundit, Martin Brundle, believes there’s more to meet the eye than the 500 plus laps Mercedes completed this week. “Obviously, it’s a completely different concept of aerodynamics. Mercedes never really aced the ground effect cars – they never got it right. It was porpoising, and then they had a car they didn’t understand.”

Unreported Red Bull engine problems in testing

 

 

 

Do Mercedes really understand their car?

In fact the silver arrows team won just five grand Prix from 92 starts during the ground effect era of F1. “It performed sometimes and not others, and they just didn’t know why. So, clearly, they look like they’ve aced this completely different set of regulations, but we need to see what it’s like on normal track temperatures.”

Mercedes chose a tuyre allocation for Barcelona which included 8 of the C1 harder compound and 12 of the C3 softs. On day one with Red Bull running the softer tyre in the dry, Mercedes were much slower on the harder tyre in the hands of both their drivers. The quickest runs for the team were delivered on the softer tyre which raises the question will the W17 be as temperature dependent as its predecessors?

Hadjar dismissive of rivals concerns

 

 

 

Cooler temperatures favour the silver arrows

Further, winning in 2026 will be a far more complicated matter than has previously been the case in Formula One. Much will depend on how well each Power unit manufacturer can regenerate electrical power. With no official timing offered by the FIA, its difficult to understand from Barcelona how consistent the longer race simulations really were.

Delivering lots of laps and having the quickest lap time so far, is a decent start to the all new F1 technical regulations, but there’s so much more to the new F1 cars which we are unable to analyse presently. Were the W17 to have inherited some of the DNA from its forebears, then the team will again struggle when the ambient and track temperatures are high.

Given the Barcelona test has been held across the last week on January with at times single digit track temps, Bahrain will offer more insight into how the cars run in hotter climes. “Their concept looks good, but it’s too early to say that. They might have a car that just fires its tyres up brilliantly on a cold day and then overheats them on a hot day. We’ve seen Mercedes have that problem before”, adds Brundle.

Why Newey’s exit may benefit Hadjar

 

 

 

Setup work to wait for Bahrain

Mercedes head of trackside engineering, Andrew Shovlin, waxed lyrical about the mileage the team had covered being beyond expectations. However, he revealed the team did very little in terms of trying out a variety of setups for the car, something they will turn to in two weeks time in Bahrain.

“In Bahrain we’re going to focus more on improving the setup and seeing how we can get the car into the right window. Although you could do some setup work here, it’s so cold that it’s not really relevant. Bahrain is therefore a much better place to check whether the car performs well at the right temperature, both in terms of chassis performance and system operation. The final test in Bahrain will hopefully be more about race preparation, qualifying prep, the race itself, and all the situations that come with it.”

As Mercedes head back to England, the teams with a day or more left of this weeks allocation of track time were at it again in Barcelona. Charles Leclerc was quickest in the morning session just two tenths behind the best time set by Russell.

Olie Bearman delivered the most number of laps, breaking the century and after a poor start yesterday, Aston Martin in the hands of Fernando Alonso completed 49 laps but was almost five seconds off the pace of the Ferrari. 

 

 

 

Hamilton says car feels already better than in 2025

In 2025, Lewis Hamilton began a bold new chapter in his illustrious Formula 1 career by leaving Mercedes, with whom he had enjoyed more than a decade of success, to join Ferrari. This generated enormous expectations, with many hoping that the seven-time world champion could secure a record-breaking eighth title with Ferrari. However, Hamilton’s first season with the Scuderia proved far more challenging than expected, with results falling well short of his usual standards.

However, as the 2026 Formula 1 season approaches, there are growing signs that Hamilton’s situation at Ferrari may finally be improving. With the opening Grand Prix set to take place in Australia on 8 March, optimism is slowly replacing frustration within the Italian team…. READ MORE