Lando Norris
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Mercedes
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Mercedes laid down a marker at the first test under F1’s 2026 regulations, as George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli posted the most laps at the Barcelona shakedown.
The Silver Arrows registered a total of 504 laps across their three days on track at the Circuit de Barcelona this week. No rival F1 squad broke the 500-lap barrier, with Ferrari the second-most productive team, as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc combined to record 438 laps.
Hamilton ended the Barcelona shakedown with the fastest overall lap time, after Ferrari put on a set of the soft Pirelli tyres to go for a late glory run on Friday evening. Lap times are far from the be-all and end-all in testing, though, with reliability the main priority in Montmelo.
Mercedes duo Russell and Antonelli also ranked highly with the second and fifth-fastest lap times set over the five days that F1 spent in Spain. The paddock assembled for the first time this year to offer the 11 teams a chance to debug their cars built to the 2026 F1 regulations.
Lewis Hamilton led the way in Barcelona but the gaps were tight!
Who impressed you most in the shakedown? ⬇️
A ‘senior’ Mercedes figure does not like rival teams labelling them as the favourites for F1 2026
Mercedes have long been expected to lead F1’s 2026 regulations era due to their engine, as F1 has increased the electrical share of the power to a near 50/50 split, ditched the MGU-H and introduced sustainable fuels. F1 has even introduced new aero, chassis and tyre rules.
READ MORE: Which F1 teams completed the most laps at the 2026 Barcelona shakedown
But while many rival teams are labelling Mercedes as the favourites for the 2026 F1 season after the Barcelona shakedown, Craig Slater reports that a “senior” Mercedes figure is keen to deny it. Mercedes are not enjoying being described as the favourites before the first race.
Slater told Sky Sports: “According to [Mercedes], they don’t like that status and they deny that they’re ahead at the moment. As far as they see it, and I’ve spoken to a senior figure there, it is very close between last year’s big four.
“So, they count themselves in the same rough bracket as Ferrari, Red Bull, which is very creditable for them, and McLaren, too.
“But if you speak to those three others outside Mercedes, they put Mercedes, well, certainly, I spoke to someone at McLaren, they think it’s not necessarily a permanent thing or built in for the whole season, but based on this test, they are a little bit ahead.”
McLaren believe Mercedes have the best 2026 F1 car, and not only because of their engine
Mercedes have widely been touted to lead the 2026 F1 engine regulations after the Brackley bunch dominated after Formula 1 first introduced 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014. Yet McLaren, who buy Mercedes engines, do not feel the Silver Arrows’ engine is everything.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations
George Russell topped the lap count at the Barcelona Shakedown 🔥
But is mileage everything at this stage? 🤔
A McLaren figure told Slater that Mercedes will have an edge over their engine customers in 2026 as the Silver Arrows know their new power unit inside out. But McLaren feel Mercedes have built a fundamentally good car after watching Russell and Antonelli on track this week.
Slater added: “[McLaren believe Mercedes] have come with a very good car, that it’s not just down to these conditions, which, in the previous iteration of cars, suited Mercedes, these cold conditions. They think it is irrespective of that.
“And part of it only is this better understanding of the power unit. and how to harvest and deploy the electrical energy. That’s not the whole story, as far as they’re concerned.
“[McLaren] think [Mercedes] have come out of the box with a good car, and are maybe a little bit ahead of the rest leaving here.”
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