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Kimi Antonelli hardly got out on track on the second morning of F1 testing. The Italian was scheduled to drive the car before the break but Mercedes encountered an issue.
Antonelli only completed three laps, none of them timed. But that did give him the opportunity to study Mercedes’ competitors up close.
Sky Italia caught up with the sophomore driver as he watched from trackside. It’s still too early to set out a definitive pecking order, but it looks like the ‘big four’ are still a step ahead.
Is Toto Wolff playing mind games with Red Bull?
Coming into the test, Mercedes were mostly regarded as the favourites. But Antonelli’s boss, Toto Wolff, says Red Bull have built the best car and engine as it stands.
Kimi Antonelli says Ferrari have more understeer than McLaren and Red Bull
Antonelli echoed Wolff’s praise of Red Bull and also noted that McLaren had retained their ‘very strong’ front end from the title-winning 2025 car.
The Ferrari didn’t look as well-balanced, he observed, as Charles Leclerc suffered with understeer. It’s unclear if this is an innate characteristic of the SF-26, or a consequence of Leclerc’s set-up.
“I’m trying to understand the car’s behaviour,” said Antonelli. “Red Bull looks strong, McLaren, like last year, seems to have a very strong front end.
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“Also, Ferrari looks good, maybe they have a bit more understeer compared to Red Bull and McLaren.”
Intriguingly, one journalist said the Ferrari almost looked ‘too responsive’ on turn-in on Tuesday, so it may be that the engineers have now over-corrected.
Braking was a bigger problem for Hamilton at first, but that will only be a serious concern if it continues for the remainder of testing.
Ferrari are already planning surprise car change for the Australian Grand Prix
It’s also worth noting that Ferrari have taken a different approach to some of their rivals. While others are building up towards Melbourne spec in testing, the Scuderia are keeping their round-one car under wraps and developing it separately.
Ferrari hope to spring a ‘surprise’ by rolling out at Albert Park with new sidepods, and that won’t be the only change.
On one hand, Ferrari will be able to keep their innovations hidden away from the spy cameras deployed at testing.
On the other, they are missing an opportunity to gather real-world data on their Melbourne upgrades. The drivers will have to recalibrate when they step into a significantly different car for the opening practice session.
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