150 LAPS LATER: WHAT GEORGE RUSSELL DISCOVERED ABOUT THE NEW ACTIVE AERO WINGS IN BARCELONA
George Russell wraps up day one of F1 2026 testing in Barcelona. Discover why Mercedes is confident in the new power unit rules.
George Russell wrapped up his first day behind the wheel in Barcelona and left the track feeling good about where Mercedes stands.
Formula 1 is in the middle of a private week of testing at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Teams are mostly working in secret, but Mercedes shared its early thoughts after Monday’s first shakedown. With the new season—and a fresh set of rules—right around the corner, all eleven teams are hustling to get ready.
This week’s all about finally running the cars after months of simulations and wind tunnel time. There’s a cap on how much mileage teams can put in, so the focus is really on checking reliability, putting the cars under stress, and making sure what they see on track matches up with their data.
“It’s great to be back out there in an F1 car!” Russell said in the team’s press release. “The cars look awesome on track, which is good for the sport. They feel pretty different to drive, but once you get used to it, they’re actually pretty straightforward. I’m having fun in the cockpit, and I think fans have a lot to look forward to with these new rules.”
2026 F1 Regulation Change Highlights:
- Power units: Now it’s a 50/50 split between combustion and electric, all running on sustainable fuel.
- Active aero: Moveable wings to switch between more speed on the straights and more grip in the corners.
- Smaller cars: Shorter, narrower, lighter—should make for better racing.
- Energy use: Teams have to manage energy recovery even more carefully, and there are new rules to stop battery harvesting on long straights.
“We had a good day, but I have to give credit to some of the other teams too,” Russell added. “Red Bull’s power unit did a ton of laps—impressive for their first engine. Haas put in about the same mileage as we did, so Ferrari’s power unit is also looking strong. It’s nothing like how things were in 2014. The sport’s changed so much—the bar is way higher now.”
Russell’s young Italian teammate Antonelli felt the same way. “It was great being back in the car this morning, and more importantly, we got a lot done on day one here in Barcelona. There’s a lot to learn about these new machines, so every lap counts as we try to figure them out. The teams at Brackley and Brixworth did a fantastic job—getting a car out there that can run 150 laps on its first real day is no small feat.
“It’s early, though. We’ll find things to tweak over the next few days—testing is all about making improvements. Right now, the car feels good, and we want to build on this start with the rest of our track time here.”
Andrew Shovlin, the team’s trackside engineering boss, sounded pleased too.
“On the first day with any new car, our main goal is simple—get as many laps as possible under our belt. That’s how we start learning what we need for the rest of the week. Today was about getting to know the car, making sure it runs at the right temperatures, and seeing if we can handle long stints. We ticked all those boxes.
“It took a massive effort to get this car ready—both the chassis and the power unit teams have been grinding away at Brixworth for years. We don’t know how fast we are yet, but we’ve shown we can keep the car running, and that’s down to the hard work from everyone at both our factories.”
Mercedes has two more days of testing in Barcelona before the circus heads to Bahrain in February for public testing, where everyone will really get to see what these new cars can do.
DISCOVER WHY JONATHAN WHEATLEY BELIEVES RED BULL’S STRUGGLES FUEL MAX VERSTAPPEN’S OUTRAGE
Jonathan Wheatley claims Max Verstappen's criticism of the "anti-racing" 2026 regulations reflects Red Bull's early struggles.
Jonathan Wheatley thinks Max Verstappen’s harsh words about Formula 1’s 2026 rules say as much about Red Bull’s current struggles as they do about the new regulations.
Verstappen hasn’t held back at all; he’s been one of the loudest voices against F1’s new energy-harvesting era, calling the rules “anti-racing” during pre-season testing.
Just two races in, Verstappen’s only got eight points. After Shanghai, he walked away without scoring anything. He finished the sprint race in ninth just outside the points, mostly because he lost ground when his car bogged down from a lack of battery power right off the line.
Things didn’t get better in the main race. Verstappen tried to claw his way back, but he had to park his RB22 because of an ERS cooling problem.
He didn’t sugarcoat his feelings. Verstappen slammed the new energy management rules, energy harvesting, and super clipping, all of it, as “fundamentally flawed". He called the racing itself a "joke". For him, the whole thing’s starting to feel more like Mario Kart than real racing.
“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and have been practising Mario Kart, actually!” Verstappen joked when someone asked if sim time gives drivers an advantage now. “Honestly, I’m getting good at finding the mushrooms. The blue shell’s a bit tougher, but I’m working on it. No rockets yet, but they’re coming.”
He also warned F1’s leaders that these new rules could “eventually ruin the sport; it’ll come back to bite them.”
Not everyone’s moved by Verstappen’s complaints. Juan Pablo Montoya went as far as telling him, "There's the door.” Guenther Steiner, the former Haas boss, said it came off as nothing more than “toys out of the pram when it doesn’t go his way.”
Meanwhile, things look very different for Charles Leclerc. He’s been fighting for podiums in Australia and China and is loving the new era.
“I really enjoyed it,” Leclerc said. “Yeah, sometimes the overtakes feel a little fake if someone messes up their battery management; you get this huge speed difference. But we’re all learning when to push and when to risk it, and that’s creating some great overtaking spots. Today was a perfect example.”
Wheatley, watching all this, figures opinions on the new rules depend on how well one's doing. If you ask the guys up front, Ferrari and Mercedes, they love the new racing. The teams chasing them? Not so much.
He told reporters after the Chinese Grand Prix, “Talk to the Ferrari drivers; they’ll say it was a brilliant day. If you’re not winning, you just want to be able to race cleanly. Honestly, I didn’t see anything fake; every driver was fighting hard and fair. The midfield battles are fantastic; there’s a lot to like.”
And as for Verstappen’s comments? Wheatley gets it. When you’re struggling, it’s easy to point fingers.
FRED VASSEUR REJECTS TEAM ORDERS AS FERRARI DRIVERS DUEL CLEANLY IN SHANGHAI
Lewis Hamilton secures his first Ferrari podium at the Chinese GP as Fred Vasseur praises his drivers' clean racing.
Fred Vasseur felt pretty good about Ferrari’s performance in the Chinese Grand Prix, especially the way his drivers fought each other so cleanly, even though, as he admitted, it could’ve ended up looking like a disaster.
Ferrari started the race in third and fourth, and, right from the get-go, both drivers didn’t hold back. They actually got ahead of the Mercedes for a bit, but it didn't last; they ended up getting passed again. In those early laps, the two Ferraris were stuck between the Mercedes cars: Kimi Antonelli stretched his lead while George Russell stayed glued to their tails.
Lewis Hamilton led George Russell early on, and those two swapped places a bunch of times. Ferrari’s drivers did, too. There were moments when they went side by side, pushing the absolute limit, without ever making contact. Honestly, they kept at it almost the entire race. The last big move happened on Lap 40. Hamilton passed Leclerc and held onto third place, finally putting a red car on the podium for the first time this year.
Even with all that fighting, both Ferraris came home without a scratch. The drivers both said they had a blast; it was tough, hard racing, but always clean.
Vasseur, who runs the show at Ferrari, was quick to praise them. “Huge respect for both of them,” he told the press. “They’re total pros, and it just made sense to let them race. Sure, sometimes you risk looking stupid if things go wrong, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
He was clear about his philosophy early in the season: you’ve got to let the drivers race. No team orders from the pit wall, just a chance to let them build up the team spirit by pushing each other. “This is how you make real progress,” Vasseur said. “As long as they race like they did today, I won’t freeze the positions. Even on the radio, they were telling us they were having fun.”
Once Hamilton got past Leclerc on Lap 40, the order was set. Hamilton got his first podium for Ferrari, which was huge even if his first season with them had been tough so far. Vasseur wasn’t worried, though.
“It’s so much easier the second year,” Vasseur explained. “He’s been part of the project for a while now; he started working with us as far back as mid-2025, doing simulator runs. He’s got more of a stake in this now compared to when he just turned up last January, and the car was already built. He knows everyone better, and working with the team is just smoother.”
But Vasseur knows Ferrari still has a big gap to Mercedes. The team has shown some solid pace in these first two races, but closing that gap will take time. “We’ve got to keep chipping away with those small gains, that’s how we’ll catch up.”
Right now, Ferrari’s battles out on track aren’t causing any problems. As the season goes on, though, Vasseur’s going to have to keep a lid on any tension because the championship’s heating up. Ferrari trails Mercedes by 31 points, and Leclerc and Hamilton are both chasing Russell for the drivers’ title, sitting 17 and 18 points behind.
If Ferrari’s going to have any shot at beating Mercedes, they’ll need to be on it every step of the way and stay ready to jump if their rivals make a mistake.
