The 2026 Formula 1 private shakedown in Barcelona couldn’t have gone any better for Mercedes, says its engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
This week featured the first set of on-track running for the 2026 season, which’ll introduce a new set of regulations with changes to both the chassis and power unit.
Because everything is new, this year’s pecking order is not yet known but Mercedes is still the bookmakers' favourite for the constructors’ title considering it dominated the last engine switch in 2014.
The Silver Arrows backed up such promise with its three days of running in Barcelona, the maximum a team is allowed, as Wednesday saw Andrea Kimi Antonelli already complete a full race simulation.
He shared the W17 with team-mate and drivers’ championship favourite George Russell that day, in which the pair completed a combined 183 laps, helping Mercedes clock the most laps of the week so far.
Everything now looks good for Mercedes to return its once dominant form, which ended with the introduction of ground-effect cars in 2022 when it went on to win just seven races in four seasons.
“For Mercedes in particular, that last set of regulations was tough for us - it was four difficult years,” Shovlin, who was with the Silver Arrows when it won a record-breaking eight, consecutive championships from 2014 to 2021, told F1 TV.
“It's just nice to see how much energy people have put into this project. Some people have been working on this car for quite a few years now, I don't think we could have hoped for a better three days of testing. So, just well done to everyone at both factories. It's been really nice to come here and see it run on track.”
Although Russell continued Mercedes’ impressive form from Wednesday by setting the fastest lap on Thursday, what’s most impressive is how much mileage the Silver Arrows has completed.
It therefore backs up the rumours that its power unit is the best in F1, as Shovlin added: “We were focused on just understanding the new systems. There's always going to be a lot of challenges with new power units, new electronics.
“Obviously, the regulations are all new on the chassis side, but all of the areas that weren't great on day one, we've made good progress. So that's very encouraging and that progress is actually making us quicker day by day - that's great.
“But honestly, I think the reliability has just been amazing, which is a huge testament to all that work at Bricksworth and at Brackley to bring this project together.”
Up next for Mercedes are the official pre-season tests in Bahrain [11-13 and 18-20 February] before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 6-8 March.
Melbourne kickstarts a 24-round campaign, so there is still a long road ahead and Shovlin is not getting carried away by this week - particularly given it’s the Barcelona track in January, where everything is much cooler than what remains of 2026.
“Bahrain, we're going to move more to set-up exploration, trying to work out how you get the car in the right window,” he said.
“And whilst you can do set-up here, it's so cold, it's not really relevant to any racetrack. So, Bahrain is going to be a much better place to check that the car runs well at temperature, both in terms of the chassis performance side, but also just the systems running effectively.
“That final Bahrain [test], hopefully, will be more just about the race prep. So, preparing for qualifying, preparing for race and all the situations that that throws up.”
