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Topics: Lando Norris, Formula 1, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc
Ryan Smart
Topics: Lando Norris, Formula 1, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc
McLaren's Lando Norris has completed his first session at the opening 2026 F1 pre-season test in Barcelona.
Norris and McLaren remained in the garage during days one and two of the five-day F1 'shakedown' test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
They went out on track for the first time on Wednesday, with McLaren opting to run Norris only over team-mate Oscar Piastri in both the morning and afternoon sessions.
The test is being held behind-closed-doors, meaning there has been little in the way of data or information to emerge from the opening days thus far.
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Lap time data has, though, been published online by various media outlets, meaning fans can at least get some insight into the 'shakedown'.
While the lap times themselves aren't particularly important at this stage - teams are mainly using the test to identify any reliability issues and get used to the vast regulation changes in a track environment - there are already a few signs over who may find themselves in a strong position come the Australian Grand Prix in March.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen topped the timesheets on days one and two, though Hadjar suffered a crash on Tuesday afternoon in the wet.
And on day three, the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were first and second - with the Silver Arrows appearing to show some quiet confidence that they may have a competitive package for 2026.
Mercedes were one of two teams, along with Alpine, to deploy both drivers on the third day, with several teams - Aston Martin, Ferrari, Red Bull and Cadillac - all opting not to use up one of their three permitted test days.
As per Spanish outlet SoyMotor, Antonelli topped the timesheets on Wednesday with a fastest time of 1:17.382, which is also the quickest lap of the week so far.
Russell, meanwhile, was in second with a 1:17.580.
In third place out of eight drivers was Norris, who set a time of 1:18.725 at the beginning of the afternoon on the medium tyre.
On Tuesday, only Red Bull and Ferrari opted to take to the track - perhaps given the inclement weather that was forecasted for much of the day.
During dry running in the morning, Verstappen ran quickest with a time of 1:19.578, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc behind him on a 1:20.844. Hadjar and Lewis Hamilton both ran in wet conditions in the afternoon.
Neither team participated in day three of testing, with Ferrari set to return on Thursday for the second of their three permitted days on track.
While the times themselves have to be taken with a pinch of salt, given that track conditions will have been different on each day and teams will have ran different tyre types and fuel loads, Mercedes are currently setting the pace with Antonelli and Russell.
After day one, Russell spoke positively about his first impressions of the new 2026 cars and of Mercedes' package in particular, telling reporters in Barcelona (via Autosport): "We are pleased with our day, but I've also been impressed by several other teams too.
"The Red Bull power unit has completed a lot of laps which, given that it's their first engine they've built, means they've clearly done a good job.
"Haas also managed a similar amount of running to ourselves, so the Ferrari power unit has also put together plenty of mileage."
The Brit appeared to further underline his confidence by referencing 2014 - the last time significant power unit changes were brought into F1, with Mercedes going on to dominate the season - although stated that he expects the field to be close.
"It's not quite how it was in 2014," Russell said. "The sport has evolved so much since then and the level, in every single aspect, is so high now."