Complicated but “doable” – Drivers issue early verdict on the F1 2026 cars

Other than a few short filming runs, day one of Barcelona’s five-day shakedown was the first real opportunity for Formula 1 drivers to put the brand-new 2026 generation of cars to the test.

Seven of the 11 teams made it out on day one, with Williams forced to skip the week completely and Aston Martin scrambling to make it out for at least two of the three days allowed per team.

No reliable lap times were available from the behind-closed-doors test – and they wouldn’t have been at all relevant even if they had been – but Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was unofficially fastest from Mercedes’ George Russell, while Esteban Ocon was the most productive driver logging more than two grands prix distances. The healthy amount of running done on day one suggests teams needn’t have been as apprehensive about allowing public scrutiny as they were.

Two elements that are of value at this early stage are looking at those who made a troubled start – particularly by not being on the ground at all like the aforementioned teams – and by listening to the first impressions of those who did, with the radical shift of aerodynamic regulations and a bigger reliance on electric power set to overhaul the way the new era of cars needs to be driven, and raced.

Read into it what you will, but by far the most glowing review was reserved for the Mercedes W17 driven by Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

“It still will take a bit of time to try all the modes – overtake, override, all that kind of stuff – it’s different,” Antonelli said after taking on the full day for Mercedes. “But the car is nice, it’s very nice to drive and obviously, on the power unit side, it’s a bit different compared to what we had last year – it requires a bit more management but it’s all doable.

Antonelli also praised the driveability of the new Mercedes power unit, which “was a big question mark but seems to be good so far.”

Esteban Ocon, Haas

Photo by: Formula 1

Team-mate Russell, who took over the W17 for the afternoon session, also felt his new machinery was fun to drive. “They are quite different for us as drivers but, once you get your head around it, driving them is quite intuitive.

“It’s enjoyable being behind-the-wheel and I think there’s a lot for fans to look forward to with these new regulations.”

Esteban Ocon, whose Haas team worked through a number of early gremlins, still felt the driver workload in the cockpit was “very complicated” with the squad’s Ferrari power unit.

“It’s very different, very complicated,” he said. “I was lucky to be able to do a lot of simulator days before we started the year, so we’re pretty well set on that. “Everything is clear but yes, it’s very complicated for all of us. But I hope that this will be the same for everyone.” 

Gabriel Bortoleto, who made his debut in the first-ever Audi F1 car – powered by the team’s first F1 engine, felt his 2026 car was “very different but not another world”. The Brazilian, a rookie in F1 last year, has had much less experience with the previous era of cars and has been used to changing cars every single season since his rapid ascent up the single-seater ladder.

“They are very different. They feel a little different,” Bortoleto said after his Audi team curtailed his day early due to technical trouble on the R26. “I don’t know how to express this because I didn’t really drive any similar car in the past. I would say the Formula 2 car, it’s much slower than the old regulations of F1. And I feel these ones are going to be slower as well.

“But it’s very cool to have the power unit being 50% electric now. You’ll go out of the corner, and you have so much speed being deployed and then you can see how strong it is. And these things are different and you need to get used to it and adapt your way of driving the car as well.

“But it’s still a racing car and it’s not another world. It’s just a new regulation change that is very different.”

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who was one of three drivers to temporarily stop on track out of precaution as the team limited him to 60 laps, largely echoed Bortoleto’s comments. “They are very different, but at the end of the day it still is a race car, and you need to drive it quickly within the grip that is available and that’s very similar.

“At the end of the day, the technique is changing a little bit, the energy management, the tyres are much thinner, smaller and, of course, we need to adapt our driving as well.”

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Formula 1

Racing Bulls man Liam Lawson admitted “I definitely haven’t got my head around it fully yet” as he adapts to racing with Red Bull’s first-ever in-house power unit, which was built in collaboration with Ford. “It’s something that we’ll keep learning over the next few days and weeks when we go to Bahrain as well. But it’s very, very different,” the New Zealander said.

“It feels like there’s a lot more we can do as drivers potentially to make a difference, which is good. But right now, it’s very early days. So it’s very hard to know where we are. But for now, just trying to learn how to optimise the car. I’m enjoying it so far.

“The main thing is reliability at the moment. We’ve done a good number of laps today, only a few little things. And honestly, the only issues we really had today were safety precautions, not really any actual issues. So far, honestly, on the power unit side, it’s been very, very good. But again, it’s hard to know compared to everybody else where we’re at.”

Barcelona’s F1 shakedown continues on Tuesday, which has the highest probability of rain. Conditions permitting, world champions McLaren and Ferrari are set to join the pre-season with their new machinery in Montmelo.

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– The Motorsport.com Team