Mercedes’ 2026 F1 car has already conquered the highest top speed from last year’s Barcelona GP

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Mercedes have already justified their billing as 2026 F1 title favourites. They have been the most impressive team across the early days of the Barcelona Shakedown.

While not every team has run for two days yet, Mercedes top the lap count at the time of writing with 334. Racing Bulls, their nearest challenger, have only just cleared 200.

At this stage, that’s far more important than any lap times. But Kimi Antonelli’s benchmark on Wednesday – a 1:17.362 – only underlined that Mercedes are in a good place.

Kimi Antonelli sets the new fastest lap of the test! Will this be beaten by Friday evening? 🤔

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The expectation that Mercedes will challenge for the title this year is founded above all on their power unit. Long before a 2026 car had even taken to the track, it was being heralded as the best in class.

Mercedes clocked at 347kph during Barcelona F1 Shakedown

Esteban Ocon recorded the highest top speed on the start/finish straight during last year’s Spanish Grand Prix at 345kph.

But during a segment on Mercedes in Sky Sports’ review of day three, Craig Slater suggested that the Silver Arrows had already beaten that benchmark at the start of testing.

F1 power units have become 50% electric for 2026, but the introduction of active aero should also improve straight-line speed. Teams can now open up their front wings to reduce drag, as well as the rear.

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“There’s lots of systems to check with these cars, lots of potential gremlins, which have affected other teams to an extent, but didn’t seem to affect them much today,” Slater said.

“I’m really interested in the speed trap. 337kph today, it was 347 two days ago. 320 used to be the limit on this track, so these cars, with the active aero, really are quick in a straight line.”

Toto Wolff has predicted top speed record for 2026 F1 cars

Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast last year, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff predicted that the 2026 cars would be capable of reaching at least 400kph.

The concern at the moment is that this would leave the driver with insufficient energy for the rest of the lap. Energy management is more crucial than ever this season.

Still, it’s conceivable that, within this ruleset, F1 sets a new top speed record. Valtteri Bottas hit 378kph during the 2016 European GP in a Mercedes-powered Williams.

Some observers at Barcelona are having flashbacks of Mercedes’ dominance in 2014, the start of the turbo/hybrid era. The Silver Arrows won 16 out of 19 races that year, launching a run of eight straight constructors’ titles.

Amidst all the hype though, Mercedes are trying to play down expectations. Even if their engine is the best, they will still have to beat reigning world champions McLaren, one of their customers.