MERCEDES TOPS ANOTHER DAY OF TESTING; ASTON MARTIN DEBUTS WITH PROBLEMS
The fourth day of Formula 1 2026 pre-season testing took place this Thursday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with a busy schedule, strong pace from Mercedes, and the long-awaited debut of the new Aston Martin AMR26.
The day started with high expectations. Aston Martin had announced earlier in the week that their goal was to run the AMR26 for the first time today. Their car arrived at the circuit on Wednesday evening, raising hopes of a first appearance.
At 09:00, the pit lane opened and the session began. Mercedes, Ferrari, Racing Bulls and Cadillac were all on track early, while McLaren and Aston Martin were still in the garage. Red Bull did not run at all, as the team continued checks after Isack Hadjar’s crash the day before.
Early running was limited. Initial lap times were slow, with Lewis Hamilton, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Sergio Pérez setting the first benchmarks. Antonelli quickly found speed, and Mercedes soon dropped into the high 1:17s.
By mid-morning, more cars joined the action. Oscar Piastri made his first appearance of the test for McLaren, while Antonelli continued a long and consistent run. By 10:23, the young Italian had already completed 31 laps.
At 11:00, Antonelli led the times again, and both Mercedes and Ferrari were clearly focused on long runs. Antonelli and Hamilton were separated by just one lap in total mileage, showing strong endurance programs.
At 12:00, Mercedes remained on top of the timesheets. Antonelli set a 1:17.081, ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. The morning session ended at 13:00 with Mercedes clearly in control.
After the lunch break, the afternoon session began at 14:00. Ferrari was the first team back on track, with Charles Leclerc running on medium tyres. George Russell then took over the Mercedes from Antonelli, who had completed an impressive 90 laps in the morning.
Russell immediately showed strong pace. At 14:55, he set a 1:17.167, close to Antonelli’s best. As the afternoon went on, the times kept falling.
At 15:28, Leclerc moved up the order with a 1:19.128. A few minutes later, Russell went even faster. At 15:42, he broke into the 1:16s with a 1:16.928 on soft tyres, confirming Mercedes had moved into qualifying-style runs.
Russell improved again at 16:30, setting the fastest lap of the day: 1:16.641 on soft tyres. Mercedes clearly ended the day as the strongest team.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin finally appeared. At 17:00, the AMR26 went out on track for the first time with Lance Stroll. The car completed an installation lap and returned to the garage. At 17:50, it went back out, but the debut ended badly.
At 17:58, a red flag was shown when Stroll stopped at the pit lane entry. The AMR26 had to be recovered by crane. Stroll had set only one slow lap at 1:46.404.
At 18:00, the chequered flag ended the fourth day of testing:
1,George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:16.445 – 78 laps
2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:17.081 – 90 laps
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:18.223 – 83 laps
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:18.419 – 48 laps
5. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) – 1:18.451 – 47 laps
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 1:18.654 – 87 laps
7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 1:18.840 – 64 laps
8. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) – 1:21.024 – 66 laps
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 1:46.404 – 5 laps
Overall, the day belonged to Mercedes. Antonelli and Russell showed both speed and reliability, while Ferrari stayed solid but a step behind. Aston Martin’s long-awaited debut finally happened, but it came with early problems.
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