MERCEDES FASTEST OVERALL IN THIRD DAY OF FORMULA 1 TESTING
The third day of Formula 1 2026 pre-season testing took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya under much better weather than the day before, with sunshine and cool temperatures encouraging more teams to run.
The day began with optimism, as McLaren were finally expected to debut their new MCL40. Mercedes, McLaren and Haas confirmed they would be on track, while there was still doubt about Red Bull after Isack Hadjar’s crash the previous afternoon.
At 09:00, the green light signaled the start of the session. The first car out was Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls, fitted with sensor equipment for aerodynamic tests. Soon after, Alpine returned to action with Franco Colapinto driving the A526, joined by George Russell in the Mercedes and Oliver Bearman in the Haas.
Audi also went out briefly with Nico Hülkenberg, but after just a couple of laps the car returned to the garage.
It didn’t take long for trouble to appear. At 10:13, a red flag was shown when Hülkenberg’s Audi stopped on track and had to be towed back to the pits. This was Audi’s second reliability problem in two days.
The session restarted at 10:20, with Mercedes pushing harder. But only ten minutes later, another red flag came out. This time, Bearman’s Haas stopped at Turn 2, marking the first issue for the Ferrari-powered cars during the tests.
After the track went green again, lap times began to improve. By 10:37, Colapinto was leading with a 1:21.897, while Russell had already completed 27 laps, more than anyone else. At 10:55, McLaren finally sent the MCL40 onto the circuit for the first time, with Lando Norris driving and using the number 1 on the car.
Meanwhile, Red Bull officially confirmed they would not run on this day as they continued to check the RB22 after Hadjar’s crash.
As the morning went on, more cars filled the track. Norris set his first time at 1:24.635, while Mercedes continued a heavy program focused on long runs.
By midday, Russell had completed an impressive 72 laps, far more than any other driver. Colapinto had done 41 laps, Lindblad 31, Bearman 16, Norris 10, and Hülkenberg just 5. At that moment, Colapinto held the fastest time with a 1:19.150.
The morning session ended at 13:00 with Russell moving to the top of the timesheets. He finished fastest with a 1:17.580 after completing 92 laps. Colapinto was second, followed by Norris, Lindblad and Bearman. Hülkenberg did not set a time.
After lunch, the afternoon session began at 14:00, with Racing Bulls first back on track. Haas soon followed, and Audi returned after their earlier problems. Mercedes also resumed running.
There were driver changes: Pierre Gasly replaced Colapinto at Alpine, and Antonelli took over the Mercedes from Russell. Lindblad, Bearman and Hülkenberg stayed in their cars.
At 14:52, the first red flag of the afternoon appeared when the Racing Bulls stopped on track, likely due to a small mechanical issue. After a short pause, the session restarted.
Once running resumed, Audi and Racing Bulls returned to the circuit. Antonelli then produced a stunning lap. At 15:44, the young Italian set the fastest time of the entire pre-season so far, a 1:17.362 on soft tyres.
More teams joined the action, and Lando Norris went out again in the afternoon. At 16:43, he set a strong lap of 1:18.725 on medium tyres.
By the end of the day, the final times showed Mercedes in complete control, as per SoyMotor:
P1) Antonelli – 1:17.362 – 91 laps
P2) Russell – 1:17.580 – 92 laps
P3) Norris – 1:18.307 – 76 laps
P4) Colapinto – 1:19.150 – 58 laps
P5) Gasly – 1:19.297 – 67 laps
P6) Bearman – 1:19.314 – 42 laps
P7) Lindblad – 1:19.420 – 120 laps
P8) Hülkenberg – 1:21.010 – 68 laps
Mercedes finished with a clear one-two, showing both speed and reliability, while Antonelli’s lap stood out as the quickest of the tests so far.
Overall, the third day was much more productive than the rain-hit sessions of yesterday. Despite a few red flags, teams gathered valuable data, McLaren finally began its program, and Mercedes sent a clear message: the new era may start with silver at the front.
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