Formula 1 teams concluded the first major shakedown of the 2026 season this week at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, offering the sport’s closest early look yet at radically redesigned cars and power units ahead of the championship’s March opener.
The five-day, closed-doors Barcelona shakedown brought a blend of long mileage, early reliability data and car development milestones, even as teams approached the event with different objectives under sweeping new technical regulations.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished the test with the fastest lap of the week for Ferrari, posting a time of 1 minute, 16.348 seconds on Friday. Mercedes and other rivals focused primarily on durability and systems checks rather than outright pace.
Mercedes topped the mileage charts with more than 500 laps logged under various conditions, drawing praise for reliability during what analysts described as a positive start to the new season.
“Lap times are almost irrelevant this week,” said veteran F1 analyst Martin Brundle, noting that teams prioritized collecting data on new chassis and power unit behavior.
Several teams faced challenges during the private sessions. Red Bull sat out part of the week while awaiting replacement parts following a crash by driver Isack Hadjar in wet conditions, and Aston Martin only joined late after significant development changes delayed its trackwork.
The Williams team did not participate in the Barcelona testing at all, citing delays in preparing its new FW48 challenger under the updated regulations, a setback team officials said they hope to overcome ahead of official tests in Bahrain next month.
Off track, the newest entrant to the grid, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, previewed its first competitive livery with a special edition scheme used during the shakedown, marking a milestone in the iconic American brand’s debut season.
The Barcelona running now turns toward the next phase of preparations, as teams head to Bahrain International Circuit for two official pre-season test sessions scheduled in mid-February, where performance comparisons and race simulations are expected to take center stage.
The 2026 Formula 1 season opens with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 8.