Mercedes have come out strong in the early sessions of the Barcelona Shakedown, quickly justifying their status as favourites for the 2026 F1 title.
Even though not every team has completed two full days of running, Mercedes have already logged 334 laps, well ahead of Racing Bulls, who are just over the 200 mark.
Kimi Antonelli’s best lap from Wednesday – a 1:17.362 – wasn’t even the headline time that mattered most. Instead, it was another sign that Mercedes are exactly where they want to be early on.
A big part of why there’s so much belief in Mercedes this year comes down to their power unit. Before any car had even hit the track for the new season, it was already being talked up as best in class.
Mercedes clocked at 347kph during Barcelona F1 Shakedown
The highest top speed recorded during last year’s Spanish Grand Prix came from Esteban Ocon, who hit 345kph on the start/finish straight.
But according to Craig Slater during Sky Sports’ recap of day three, Mercedes had already surpassed that mark early in testing.
With F1 power units now 50% electric in 2026, active aero has been introduced to help boost straight-line speed. Teams can now open both front and rear wings to cut down on drag.
“There’s lots of systems to check with these cars, lots of potential gremlins, which have affected other teams to an extent but didn’t seem to affect them much today,” Slater said.
“I’m really interested in the speed trap. 337 kph today, it was 347 two days ago. 320 used to be the limit on this track so these cars with the active aero really are quick in a straight line.”
Wolff Backs F1 2026 Cars to Top 400kph
Toto Wolff predicted that the 2026 F1 cars would be capable of hitting at least 400kph when he appeared on the Beyond the Grid podcast last year.
The worry right now is that drivers might not have enough energy left for the rest of the lap. Energy management is set to play an even bigger role this season than before.
Even so, a new top speed record under these regulations looks possible. The current record stands at 378kph, set by Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes-powered Williams during the 2016 European Grand Prix.
Some are already drawing comparisons to Mercedes’ dominance at the start of the turbo/hybrid era in 2014 when they won 16 out of 19 races and kicked off an eight-year run of constructors’ titles.
But despite the growing excitement, Mercedes are trying to keep expectations in check. Even with a potentially superior engine, they’ll still need to overcome McLaren, who happen to be one of their own power unit customers and last season’s world champions.
Read More Like This:
- George Russell shares his thoughts on Red Bull’s 2026 engine after first day of Barcelona shakedown
- How Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls laps in Barcelona stacked up against Liam Lawson’s
- Why Max Verstappen turned down Mercedes and joined Red Bull for his debut Formula 1 season
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