The first proper read on the 2026 cars has arrived in the least 2026 way possible: behind closed doors, with only scraps of timing and paddock whispers to work with. It’s a strange fit for a regulation reset that’s supposed to showcase the sport at its most inventive, and yet even through the fog of a Barcelona “shakedown week” blackout, one message is already cutting through.
Mercedes looks ready. And Kimi Antonelli is making sure everyone notices.
On Thursday morning of Day Four in Barcelona, Antonelli didn’t just rack up mileage — he owned the session. He ended the morning with 90 laps on the board and an unofficial best of 1:17.081, the quickest time reported so far this week. It’s testing, it’s early, and it’s still 5.5 seconds off last year’s pole time at the same circuit — but across a new era, the point isn’t the absolute number. It’s the intent, and the ease with which Mercedes appears to be getting through its work.
What’s been notable is how unglamorous that work looked from trackside. Mercedes was among the first to run and did so with a heavy dose of instrumentation — aero rakes hanging off the W17 — a reminder that this wasn’t a lap-time hunt so much as an engineering exercise. With mileage already “better than expected” across the first two days, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said the plan for Thursday was to move into set-up exploration and tyre range work, leaning into the softer compounds to start “dialling in” the car.
That’s the sort of programme you only get to run when you’re not firefighting. In the opening week of new regulations, that matters.
Elsewhere, it was a more familiar testing landscape: some teams pushing on, others simply trying to get to lunchtime without something expensive going bang.
Haas elected not to run on Thursday, choosing instead to make Friday its third and final day after reliability problems on Wednesday disrupted its schedule. And Red Bull’s day was also reported as a non-starter: the team is understood to be waiting on parts for its RB22 after Isack Hadjar’s crash earlier in the week. The expectation is those components would be flown in, fitted, and the car returned to the track on Friday.
While Mercedes quietly piled on laps, Ferrari delivered the morning’s only real “moment”. Lewis Hamilton suffered a dramatic 360-degree spin at Turn 10 in the first hour — the kind of incident that looks worse than it often is in testing, but still breaks rhythm, interrupts a programme, and offers rivals a clip to circulate.
Hamilton did at least respond with mileage: by mid-morning he was in the same ballpark as Antonelli on laps, and he eventually climbed to second on the unofficial timing with a 1:18.654. That left him 1.5 seconds shy of Antonelli’s best, but comfortably ahead of the pack behind.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri slotted into third on 1:18.419 from 48 laps, while Liam Lawson put Racing Bulls fourth on 1:18.840 with 64 laps completed. Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was fifth after 38 laps, his best a 1:21.349.
Aston Martin, meanwhile, was absent from the morning running amid unconfirmed reports from the circuit that it would only appear in the afternoon, with Lance Stroll expected to drive.
As ever with the first week of a new formula, the temptation is to squint at the times and overreach. Resist it. Fuel loads, engine modes, tyre prep, run plans — none of it is visible, and that’s before you get to the fact we’re doing this in near-darkness thanks to the test’s closed format. Still, there are clues you can trust, and the most dependable is always mileage. Laps tell you a team is learning, and learning early is worth more than a flattering timing sheet.
That’s why Mercedes’ morning feels like something more than just another “P1 in testing” headline. It’s the combination of pace and volume, topped off by the sense that the team can already afford to spend time on set-up and tyre understanding rather than simply making the car function.
Antonelli will hand the W17 over to George Russell after lunch for the afternoon session — Mercedes’ final running in Barcelona — but the picture is already taking shape. In a week designed for groundwork, Mercedes has looked like a team laying foundations with purpose, not panic.
Unofficial Barcelona Day 4 morning times:
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:17.081 – 90 laps
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:18.419 – 48 laps
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 1:18.654 – 87 laps
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 1:18.840 – 64 laps
Sergio Perez (Cadillac) – 1:21.349 – 38 laps
