The 2026 Formula One season is one with big changes, as its brought a period of new regulations and engines. People have only heard whispers of which team has the edge over the other, but nothing concrete. This past week in Barcelona, fans got a first look at how these cars will perform.
This test in Barcelona was private and did not allow media, so much details remain unclear. Only the official F1 website gave details about how team performance looked.
During the first day of the test, Mercedes, Audi, Racing Bulls, Cadillac, Alpine, Red Bull and Haas were all running laps.
The team that seemed to be in first place was Mercedes. On the first test day, they looked strong, getting in a good number of laps without the engine being too much of a problem.
Since there is an entirely new engine regulation, it is likely that a lot of engine failures could occur, and coming out of these runs with no problems is a big positive. Cadillac and Haas, which are using Ferrari engines, had stellar results with no issues.
Ford also did not have any problems, which is a big plus, considering that this is the auto-maker’s first time manufacturing an engine for F1 since 2004. Ferrari finally made its way onto the track on day two, but not much could be seen since it was raining in Barcelona. Red Bull was also out there running some laps, but no one else went out as the day was slow.
On day three, there was a lot of action, with McLaren running its first laps as well.
Mercedes, once again, ran the most laps, 183, and did not have many problems, while Andrea “Kimi” Antonelli and George Russell set the fastest laps.
Day four finally saw Aston Martin on the track with a very interesting design from Adrian Newey.
However, they did not make it far because they had a problem with the engine after just six laps, making it the first real engine problem during these tests. Aston Marton is using a Honda engine for the first time, and the early signs are not looking too good, but that is why these tests are important. Aston Martin ran its engine on low power for the rest of the test and got some laps in on day five.
Lewis Hamilton ended up with the fastest lap time of the whole test and Mercedes ran the most laps out of anyone.The next time the drivers will be back out on the track is for the live test in Bahrain which will be held from Feb. 11 to 13 and Feb. 18 to 20. This F1 season has a lot of excitement ahead and is sure to deliver.
