Mercedes Sets Daunting Benchmark on Day 3 of F1 Testing

Mercedes has set down a daunting marker to its Formula 1 rivals with a stunning display of reliability on the third day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Silver Arrows ran for its second day of three permitted across the week in Spain, having skipped Tuesday due to inclement weather. And much like Monday's performance, the new W17 chassis and power unit combo racked up impressive mileage at the hands of both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

Huge mileage for Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 2026 F1 pre-season test — Mercedes-Benz Media

Russell logged 92 laps in the morning before Italian teammate Antonelli fell one lap shy of that tally in the afternoon, the 183 laps taking Mercedes to a combined total of 334 laps completed in two days of running, which equates to over 1,500km.

That is a huge amount of data logged during a time when every lap is crucial to developing new machinery at the start of a new technical regulation cycle.

"We are pleased with the mileage we achieved today and have ticked off most of the objectives we set ourselves for the first two days of running here in Barcelona," said trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

"The car has been reliable, and we've been able to put together multiple race distances today. That is encouraging as an initial step, and I know both drivers will be feeling the number of laps they put in today!

GR in the hot seat 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/FXcaclgrB6
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) January 28, 2026

"The drivers have commented favorably on the feeling these smaller, lighter cars give them compared to the previous generation. However, they will only be truly happy once we see the relative performance compared to our competitors and that is something we won't see until Bahrain at the earliest.

"We have one more day of running where we will get into a little bit more set-up work than we have so far. That may come tomorrow and will give us more useful information we can analyse before we head to Bahrain. If that final day goes as well as these first two days have then we will be happy with how this shakedown in Barcelona has gone."

Teams will get a further two weeks of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in February before heading to Melbourne's Albert Park Circuit for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

While performance is hard to gauge at this early stage, Mercedes' reliability has underscored its position as the pre-season favorite.

The Latest Formula 1 News

Williams Boss James Vowles Explains "Painful" Barcelona F1 Test Absence

Red Bull Boss Explains Tricky Decision After Isack Hadjar Crash

Lewis Hamilton Hails First Day Results As Ferrari Makes F1 Testing Debut

Isack Hadjar Crashes His Red Bull Car to End F1 Test Day 2 Early