Kimi Antonelli thinks Mercedes have already answered his ‘big question mark’ about their 2026 F1 car

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is pleased with his initial feelings in Mercedes’ car for the 2026 F1 regulations after being the first driver to hit the track at the Barcelona shakedown.

The 19-year-old was the first driver to pull out of the pit lane on Monday morning, as he put Mercedes’ W17 through its paces at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Antonelli enjoyed a total of 56 laps, before George Russell took over in the afternoon and he completed 95 laps.

Mercedes chose against picking Tuesday as one of their three designated days for on-track running at the five-day Barcelona shakedown due to there being rain on the forecast. Teams can pick what days they run on as they test their new cars built for the 2026 F1 regulations.

Russell and Antonelli had already driven the W17 before heading to Barcelona, as Mercedes held a filming day at Silverstone using Pirelli’s demonstration tyres last week. The team were limited to 100km of track activities at Silverstone but broke 700km on Monday in Barcelona.

Barcelona, Day 1 done 🏁 Who’s catching your eye so far? 👇

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli is pleased with the driveability of Mercedes’ 2026 F1 rules engine

A hole in the rear diffuser on Mercedes’ 2026 F1 rules car drew a lot of attention after their filming day at Silverstone. F1 has enforced simpler floors as part of the new regulations in a bid to reduce downforce, alongside the changes to the engine, chassis and aero regulations.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

Antonelli admits that the driveability of Mercedes’ new engine for F1’s 2026 regulations was a “big question mark” for him prior to the Barcelona shakedown test. The Italian was unsure how their engine would behave with the increased electrical power, but he is pleased so far.

“The team did a really good job and driveability, which was a big question mark, seems to be good so far,” Antonelli told the F1 website after Day 1 of the Barcelona Shakedown test.

“Obviously, it’s early days, and that’s why with the running we will discover a lot more about the car and the PU, and we’ll be able to see where it’s lacking or where it’s actually good. But so far, the package is feeling good.”

Mercedes’ 2026 F1 regulations engine could make Kimi Antonelli a title contender

Describe Mercedes’ 2026 F1 livery in one word

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Formula 1 engines now feature a near 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power, having previously boasted a 20/80 split in favour of the ICE. Power units will also now run on sustainable fuels and F1 has canned the complicated MGU-H to lower the cost of an engine.

For ages, Mercedes have widely been backed to design the best 2026 F1 regulations engine, having mastered the previous major regulations change in 2014 when the series introduced 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid power units. Mercedes won seven drivers’ titles in a row from 2014-20.

There are also suspicions among their rival power unit constructors that Mercedes are using a loophole in F1’s 2026 engine regulations to increase their rate of combustion from 16:1 to 18:1 during operation. The FIA is only set to test the combustion rate in ambient conditions.

The 2026 F1 engine regulations loophole, which Red Bull are also said to be using, could be worth up to four tenths of a second per lap depending on the circuit. So, Mercedes’ engine is expected to see Antonelli and Russell compete to win the F1 drivers’ championship in 2026.