Winners and losers from the Barcelona private test

Mercedes and Ferrari have started the F1 2026 pre-season in fine fashion, but let’s look through our first Winners and Losers of the year.

Here is PlanetF1.com’s full list of winners and losers from the pre-season Barcelona shakedown.

Winners and losers from the Barcelona test

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Winner: Mercedes

The Mercedes factory team hit the ground running in spectacular fashion in Barcelona, with impressive mileage straight out of the gate.

Dividing its track time between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell on its three days of running, the first step of ensuring understanding and the ability of the new W17 platform appeared go as smoothly as any team could hope to achieve.

Straight away, the team got into triple figures, with Mercedes notching up 151 laps on the first day, 183 on day two, and 168 laps on the final day, taking it to a total of 502 laps and over 2,300 kilometres of running without any significant technical issues to report.

Added to that, the car proved one of the quickest of the week, with Russell and Antonelli each claiming a fastest time on one day, with the duo claiming two 1-2s.

The car is likely to evolve quite a bit by the time the Australian Grand Prix rolls around in early March, but the W17 has already caught the eye of several rivals.

Paddock sources have indicated to PlanetF1.com that Mercedes’ on-track programme appeared to significantly advance during the three days, to the point where setup evaluations had begun, even if Andrew Shovlin said otherwise in the team’s official end-of-shakedown debrief, a step beyond the work of simply ensuring the car will stay in one piece for a race distance.

While body language might not be how performance is measured in F1, the Brackley-based squad is said to have shown up in Barcelona with a visible confidence and a sense of purpose that hasn’t been evident in recent years.

Indeed, one senior source even suggested that George Russell can scarcely disguise his happiness while striding through the paddock, with the few media interviews carried out offering some hint as to his confidence – even if he was at pains to point out how well the new Red Bull Powertrains and Ferrari engines have performed.

As an individual team, Mercedes logged the most mileage and, as a power unit manufacturer, also managed the same, as its 1100+ lap total meant it was the only manufacturer to reach quadruple digits, with Ferrari the next-closest.

While logically, no one has shown their hand just yet, Mercedes had started 2026 with a car and power unit that have proven robust and reliable right from the get-go. With the pesky ground-effect era now behind it, might Brackley get back to the performance level we all came to expect from it during the previous regulation cycle?

Loser: Williams

I am reluctant to brand anyone a ‘loser’ at this very early stage of the pre-season, given that Barcelona was merely a non-competitive shakedown, but, if anyone can be said to be obviously on the back foot, it can only be Williams.

While team boss James Vowles has explained that making it to Barcelona with the FW48 could have been possible had the team really, really wanted to make it, weighing up the resource strain of making that happen against taking a more considered approach and starting quietly in Bahrain was the more appealing prospect.

Not making the first test due to the team not being ready, whether that be for technical, resource, or logistical reasons, isn’t a great look, and it means that Williams is now several days of track time behind every other team.

Some of this disadvantage is cancelled out by the fact that it is a Mercedes customer, meaning the huge mileage and data accumulated by the HPP teams should help with initial configuration of the FW48, especially after getting a short shakedown done by way of a filming day this coming week.

Vowles is confident the expanded testing programme, offering another six days of testing between now and the season opener, will mean Williams won’t be too disadvantaged but, at this point in time, the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all have clocked up serious mileage and have been able to get a fair idea of what their cars are doing and what the performance level is. In contrast, Williams has yet to even turn a wheel on track.

Missing Barcelona may prove inconsequential in the long run, but, in the here and now, Williams faces a steep learning curve and additional pressure to try closing a gap against a field of rivals who are several hundred kilometres down the road.

Winner: Ferrari

While Mercedes might have been the one that has rival teams spooked, Ferrari’s performance in Barcelona was of similar quality.

Not only did the team finish with the fastest time of the test, with Lewis Hamilton putting in a 1:16.348 in the final hour of the final day (reportedly on the softest compound Pirelli tyres), but all three days were triple-digit in terms of laps.

Splitting its track time between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the team did 121 laps on the first day, 174 laps on its second day, and 145 on the final day – a grand total of 440, and a race distance behind Mercedes.

Powering three teams, like Mercedes, Ferrari power units put in just under 1000 laps between the factory team, Cadillac, and Haas, meaning it finished with 145 laps fewer than Merc.

“Productive” and “positive” have been the prevailing words from both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, with neither encountering any serious technical issues to compromise their programmes.

Certainly, both appeared quietly content when speaking to the media at the end of their runs, although perhaps without the barely-disguised glee of Russell.

What’s also worth remembering is that, according to Vasseur, the specification of the car brought to Barcelona is essentially an ‘A-spec’ edition, with plenty of evolution still to come before Australia.

The likes of McLaren, for instance, have suggested there is little by way of upgrading to come before Australia. This would suggest that Ferrari has plenty more performance to introduce to a platform that has already ended the first test fastest.

The more likely reality is that most of the teams will introduce further evolution and upgrades at a point in the season when lap time will be relatively easy to unlock, although, if Ferrari does essentially have an entirely different package to roll out, then it’s off to a very positive start indeed…

Winner/Loser:

Aside from Williams, I don’t believe there are any other losers, and feel it would be unduly harsh to brand anyone else with that iron.

Anyone who made it to Barcelona and got its shakedown done has achieved the purpose of the event, even if some didn’t achieve the same highs as others.

Of those who did get out on track, it’s Aston Martin who teeters on the edge of making it into the Losers list, but its full day of action on Friday ensures that it cannot be fully lumped into that category.

Certainly, there is an element of playing catch-up for the team, whose AMR26 was flying into Girona Airport on Wednesday afternoon as some teams were reaching triple-digit laps for the day.

The sheer relentless hard work carried out by the Aston Martin team in getting the car on track on Thursday must be applauded, and the car certainly caught the eye with its unusual design details that stand out as being typically Adrian Newey-esque in their bravery.

While the initial shakedown on Thursday suggested all wasn’t quite well as the car was stopped for precautionary reasons while out on track, Friday was much more positive and, while Fernando Alonso’s 1:20.795 might not have set the track alight, it was at least within the 107 percent rule and would thus have qualified for the Grand Prix relative to the fastest time of the test. And was quicker than any time managed by either Cadillac driver.

With 61 laps completed, Alonso managed just under a race distance to ensure that, at least, Aston Martin does have some data to carry forward.

One of the less positive facts about the test is that Aston Martin is the only car to run the Honda power unit. With only 66 laps in total completed, Honda’s data is thus negligible compared to Mercedes, and is almost 1000 laps behind what the Brixworth company can boast in terms of actual, real-world learnings.

While far from ideal, at least that learning has started.

More from Barcelona F1 testing

Fernando Alonso breaks silence after Aston Martin AMR26 debut

Carlos Sainz asks how he can help after Williams Barcelona delay

Winner: Red Bull

The RB22 started well with Isack Hadjar fastest on the first day, putting in 107 laps, with Max Verstappen putting in 118 laps on Friday to underline decent reliability from the new car.

Of course, the second day went less smoothly as Isack Hadjar crashed in damp conditions on Tuesday, meaning some work needed for Red Bull to get back on track with a repaired car later in the week.

The main focus for Red Bull is obviously more on understanding and fettling its new power units, which proved impressive for a newcomer outfit as, cumulatively across the two Red Bull squads, RBPT engines did over 600 laps and were bested only by Mercedes and Ferrari.

Impressively, this was triple what an established automotive manufacturer like Audi managed in the test, and was almost 10 times the number of laps that former supplier, Honda, managed.

“We did a lot of laps today, and that was really the key. We learned a lot, and there are, of course, still a lot of things that we want to look into, but it’s a good start,” Max Verstappen said at the end of his productive last day.

“So much work has gone into this power unit over the last few years and to see it then go into the car and on the first day, immediately do so many laps was great to see.

There were a lot of emotional faces in the garage, and that was very special. Everything is still a work in progress, but we have hit the ground running quite well. We need time to understand the engine and make setup changes. You try to put as many laps on the board and try as many things as you can in the day.

“I think we are doing that, and this is what this Shakedown was about and what we will continue to do. It is a complicated formula for everyone to get right, which means there is still a lot of work to do before we head to Bahrain.”

With the new RBPT unit proving quite reliable at the first time of asking, Red Bull couldn’t have asked for much more in Barcelona.

As for Hadjar’s costly crash, such an experience knocked Pierre Gasly’s confidence in a similar testing crash at the same track seven years ago, a stumble he struggled to recover from. Isack Hadjar has already shown he is capable of brushing off serious disappointment in pressurised circumstances, so this setback is unlikely to faze him too much…

Winner: McLaren

McLaren had a heads-down outing in Barcelona, sitting out the first two days as the trackside crew received the new MCL40 direct from dyno work at the AVL facility in Austria.

The first two days were solid if unspectacular, with Lando Norris accruing 77 laps on Wednesday and Oscar Piastri 48 on Thursday, before the Australian’s day was prematurely curtailed due to a fuel system issue.

But both drivers got another crack of the whip on Friday, as Norris completed 86 laps to reach a total of 163 laps, while Piastri did 80 to reach a total of 128.

The reigning World Champions may not have managed the relentless mileage that the Mercedes factory team did, nor the mileage that Mercedes and Alpine managed, but the MCL40 has started life in “rewarding” fashion, according to technical director of engineering Neil Houldey.

“We’re pleased with the overall outcome and learnings we can take away from each individual lap recorded,” he said.

“Following our full-car dyno work in Austria, the first two days in Barcelona were about preparing the car and while some small issues cost us mileage across day one and day two of running, the final day delivered exactly what we needed with both drivers completing extensive laps without any reliability concerns.

“Our shakedown checklist remains familiar, but the new power unit regulations have added complexity, especially around deployment and harvesting. We did what we could in the simulator, but there’s no substitute for track time, where close collaboration with Mercedes-Benz High Performance Powertrains has helped us refine solutions. We also validated the new straight and cornering mode and focused on understanding the best operational approach.

“The data haul has been invaluable. Telemetry from running the car will sharpen simulator realism now that the drivers have experienced the real thing. We completed meaningful aero work, including flow visualisation, and gathered extensive references to benchmark our next development steps.

“As a team, both trackside and in Woking, we’ve packed a lot into this week, and we’ll be heading to Bahrain for pre-season testing, intent on arriving with a faster, more reliable car than the one we started with this week.”

Winner: Haas

Ayao Komatsu has previously spoken about the importance of gaining a quick understanding of how best to use and manage the new power units at the start of this new regulation cycle, and, certainly, his drivers put in the work to help the team achieve that learning in Barcelona.

With 195 laps accumulated between Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon on Friday alone, this lap count was the highest any team managed on any day of the test, putting it 12 ahead of Mercedes’ best day.

Indeed, the teams’ total lap count of 391 was only bested by Ferrari and Mercedes.

This was despite some reliability issues on Wednesday that curtailed the team’s running, which meant the team had to scramble for replacement parts that arrived late on Thursday. But dedicated work from the Haas crew had the car ready to resume the track bright and early on Friday morning, with Bearman heading out as the first car on track at 9 am on Friday.

“Everything we learn here puts us in a better spot for going to Bahrain testing,” Ayao Komatsu said.

“I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made. Today [Friday], it’s not just been about the quantity of laps, it’s been about the quality of laps, and that’s a positive thing for us.

“We’ve got a huge amount of data to look at, again – things like aero-characteristics are very different, and there’s lots to digest on the PU side as well. We’ve got a week to go over everything and put improvements in place for Bahrain.”

Winner: Alpine

Having sacrificed F1 2025 in order to concentrate on development of the A526, positive noises have been coming out of Enstone in recent months.

Certainly, the A526 appeared to have no issues integrating with the new Mercedes power unit, as, despite only doing 60 laps on the first day, Alpine ended up with the fourth-highest lap count of the test as Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly shared duties on Wednesday before the French driver did a mammoth 764 kilometres, 164 laps, during a gruelling Friday shift.

Alpine has said it’s looking for a more competitive season this year after a difficult 2025 and managing director Steve Nielsen has said the team is roughly where it wanted to be in terms of preparation for this point of the pre-season.

“We shook the car down in Silverstone before we came here and probably left with more questions than answers, but we’ve been able to come here and work through some of that and find solutions, particularly with energy recovery, which will be a steep learning curve for us and all teams for that matter,” he said.

“The feedback and input of the drivers is vital to that, and learning about these new car,s which have much higher straight-line speeds we’ve not seen before, as well as less downforce in the corners.

“So, there’s a lot to learn for teams up and down the paddock. Luckily, the weather has held up for most of this week, and with the days we chose to run, we had effectively dry running and covered lots of mileage and managed to collect useful data.

“We leave Barcelona having ticked off some boxes and will look to continue that trend in Bahrain in a few weeks’ time.”

Honourable mention as winners: Audi and Cadillac

It would be very easy to lump Audi and Cadillac into the losers category, given their relative lack of mileage and pace on display. But, as I’ve said above, it’s beyond harsh to truly hold anyone up against such scrutiny at this early point of the pre-season, so I’m not going to.

As a brand-new team, Cadillac’s participation in the first day of testing was an emotional moment for all involved, especially for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, as the duo have secured a full-time return to the grid.

There can be little beating around the bush that the mileage figures for Cadillac were comparatively low, with its best day being 66 laps accumulated on Thursday, as the team did 164 laps in total, the lowest figure of all the teams to take part in three days.

But the simple achievement of having a car created and on track marks a historic moment for Graeme Lowdon’s team, and while there’s plenty of work ahead to start unlocking the capabilities and speed already being demonstrated by the usual frontrunners, it still managed to show up for the test with a constructed car.

As for Audi, an experienced team in its Sauber guise, the switch to a brand-new power unit created by the German manufacturer saw the team restricted on mileage throughout its first two days, as issues emerged – issues that were addressed and overcome, to the point where the team finished with a respectable 243-lap tally by week’s end.

“As expected, we faced some early challenges, which is completely normal at this stage,” said the team’s technical director, James Key.

“They were all well understood and fixable. That said, we made clear and consistent progress as the week went on, and by the second half of the test, we were able to run more productively and begin extracting meaningful insights.

This test was never about performance – it was about validating the fundamentals and ensuring our core systems are functioning reliably. In that regard, we’ve made good progress and now have a solid foundation to build on heading into Bahrain. Every lap completed is a step forward, and the work from both the trackside team and our colleagues in Neuburg and Hinwil has been instrumental in moving us forward.

Winner: F1 fans

I wrote earlier this week that F1, as a sport, may have shot itself in the foot somewhat by not putting itself in a position to stand confidently over the new regulations as the teams squirreled themselves away behind closed doors before proceeding to demonstrate their usual excellent right from the start.

While it may have been judged to have been a dull viewer experience, giving fans the option to watch on as the new cars and exciting new regulations began life would have been ideal, given that most of the efforts to try securing the circuit ultimately proved futile anyway.

But all of that will be forgotten quite quickly in Bahrain, with media access and coverage returning – broadcasting may be limited at the first test, but fans will be able to keep up to date far more than during the Barcelona shakedown.

For all the doom-mongering and negativity about the new cars, Barcelona has gone a long way towards assuaging those fears. The cars look incredible, perhaps the most aesthetically appealing since the mid-2000s with the return of high-rake, angles and swoops in all the right places, and a visible nimbleness that was lacking through the ground-effect era.

From the limited footage that was made available, there is nothing particularly unnatural visible in how the cars are driving or powering down the straights, although this may become more apparent in actual wheel-to-wheel battle as energy management and deployment become more critical.

While natural convergence will result in some of the radically different designs fading away as others move to copy those with more competitive machines, the field already looks set to be reasonably competitive at the first time of asking, with Ferrari and Mercedes, in particular, showing comparable performance, while Red Bull can’t be ruled out after a stronger-than-expected first showing with RBPT engines.

Granted, it’s still very possible one team, or manufacturer, will emerge utterly dominant this year but, based on the Barcelona shakedown alone, there’s plenty of reason to be excited about the upcoming season.

Let’s see if we’re saying the same thing after Bahrain testing…

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