It was another box-ticking exercise for Mercedes on Wednesday in Barcelona, with the Brackley squad once again blending performance with reliability.
George Russell’s morning run laid the foundations before Kimi Antonelli turned up the wick in the afternoon, continuing an encouraging trend for a team that has quietly amassed serious mileage.
By the close of play, Mercedes had comfortably passed the 300-lap mark across the shakedown, with both Russell and Antonelli completing more than 90 laps on Wednesday alone.
With one test day still available to them – either Thursday or Friday – the SilverArrows outfit looks well placed to refine its programme without pressure.
Strong Showing Across All Mercedes-Powered Teams
Behind Antonelli, Mercedes power units dominated the top of the timesheets. Reigning champions McLaren enjoyed a solid first outing for the new MCL40, with reigning world champion Lando Norris logging more than 70 laps.
Alpine also had reason to be upbeat, with Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly rounding out an all-Mercedes-powered top five. The duo combined for over 100 laps, marking a productive session for the Enstone team.
Among the non-Mercedes runners, Ferrari-powered Haas led the way through Ollie Bearman, though an early stoppage limited the team to just over 40 laps — a sharp contrast to its heavier running earlier in the week.
The day was briefly interrupted by red flags caused by Audi and Racing Bulls, but both squads recovered to bank meaningful mileage.
Arvid Lindblad helped Racing Bulls clear 100 laps, while Audi rebounded from a difficult Monday to notch around 70 laps with Nico Hulkenberg.
Ferrari and Red Bull sat out Wednesday after running on Tuesday, while Aston Martin is set to make its first appearance on Thursday and Williams absent from the test altogether.
As the Barcelona shakedown gathers pace, Mercedes’ combination of speed, consistency and volume is starting to stand out – and Antonelli’s headline time was the clearest signal yet of a team finding its rhythm.
Barcelona Test - Day 3 Times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1m17.362s | 91 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.218s | 92 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.945s | 76 |
| 4 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +1.788s | 58 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.935s | 67 |
| 6 | Ollie Bearman | Haas | +1.952s | 42 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +2.058s | 120 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | +3.648s | 68 |
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