George Russell joined Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri as the only drivers to win grands prix in 2025
Mercedes were pre-season favourites for 2026 long before any of the new cars ran on track, and nothing that happened in the Formula 1 'shakedown' in Spain this week has changed that.
The new Mercedes made a strong impression on rivals. The team did the most miles, and set the fastest times while the car was on the track, albeit Lewis Hamilton posted the quickest time of the week late on the final day in the Ferrari.
The seven-time champion's lap of one minute 16.348 seconds pipped George Russell's best for Mercedes, set the previous day, by 0.097 seconds. World champion Lando Norris was second fastest on the final day, and third overall, in the McLaren, 0.246secs off Hamilton.
Judging performance from pre-season testing is always fiendishly difficult because of the number of variables involved, all the more so after a week such as this.
