F1 | Barcelona Test Day 3: Mercedes completes almost 3 GPs, Kimi Antonelli fastest. Mercedes dominates Day 3 of the Barcelona F1 shakedown.

On the third day of closed-door shakedown testing in Barcelona, Mercedes put in an impressive 183 laps in a single day, setting the top two times of the day with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. McLaren debuted the MCL40, securing third place with Lando Norris, while Audi ran consistently in the afternoon. The day also saw three red flags.

Mercedes dominates the laps

Mercedes continues to rack up mileage. The W17 chewed up the asphalt at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, completing 183 laps between George Russell’s morning session and Antonelli’s afternoon stint—almost three full Grand Prix distances (198 laps at Barcelona).

It’s impossible to draw conclusions on the Silver Arrows’ outright pace at this stage. After all, this is only a shakedown designed to prepare the cars for February’s Bahrain tests. Nevertheless, the W17 already appears solid, power unit included.

Both Russell and Antonelli attempted two quick laps on C3 (Soft) tires before spending most of the day running on C1 (Hard) compounds, focusing on long-run simulations similar to day one.

By the end of the day, Antonelli set the fastest time at 1:17.362, the quickest of the three-day shakedown, beating Russell’s morning 1:17.580 by two-tenths. Lap counts were similar, with Russell completing 92 laps and Antonelli 91, reflecting the reliability and consistency of the Mercedes program under Toto Wolff.

McLaren MCL40 debuts

The third day was also important for the debut of the McLaren MCL40. The papaya car, running in full black livery for these tests, hit the track mid-morning with Lando Norris, completing 76 laps and setting the third fastest time of 1:18.307. The Woking team also carried out several aerodynamic tests, using flow viz on the floor, rear wing, and suspension.

Alpine and Mercedes power units shine

The Mercedes engine logged another 125 laps thanks to Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly. Colapinto ran the morning session, while Gasly took over in the afternoon. Gasly completed 67 laps versus Colapinto’s 58, although the Argentine was slightly faster with a 1:19.150 compared to Gasly’s 1:19.297—only a few thousandths apart.

Red flags and other teams

Oliver Bearman caused one of three red flags by stopping the Haas VF-26 in Turn 2. He set a time just one-tenth faster than Arvid Lindblad, who debuted the Racing Bulls VCARB03 today. Bearman was later stationary in the early afternoon, triggering the third red flag, but still completed 120 laps—a positive signal for the Red Bull-Ford power unit.

Faenza worked on aerodynamic understanding in the morning using flow viz and rakes, as well as cross-referencing data between track and factory. Lindblad spent the afternoon gathering tire and power unit data, operating one of the youngest units in the paddock alongside Audi.

Speaking of Audi, the R26 also caused a red flag, losing valuable track time. While collecting aerodynamic data with rakes placed in front of the rear wheels, Nico Hulkenberg stopped between Turns 9 and 10, requiring recovery. After completing only 5 laps in the morning, Hulkenberg returned in the afternoon to add 63 more, finishing with a total of 68 laps. The R26 also recorded the slowest time of the day at 1:21.010.

Looking ahead to Day 4

Tomorrow, the fourth day of the shakedown, Aston Martin Racing will finally debut the AMR26. It is not yet clear who will drive it, but anticipation to see Adrian Newey’s latest creation is high. The Ferrari SF-26 is also expected back on track.

Barcelona F1 Shakedown – Day 3 Final Times

Laps by power unit – Day 3