BARCELONA TEST – Kimi Antonelli reportedly fastest by three-quarters of a second on Day Three
Kimi Antonelli was reportedly the fastest on the third day of the first test at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, the Italian set a 17.362, which is the fastest time of testing so far. Antonelli was three-quarters of second faster than his Mercedes teammate George Russell, as the new Mercedes proved reliable once again.
Mercedes have been impressive this week between their two drivers, Antonelli set the fastest time on the C2 tyre. Outright lap times are largely irrelevant until the final day in Bahrain, both drivers managing the same amount of mileage.
World champion Lando Norris was third as he completed around a race distance going third, according to SoyMotor, with ESPN putting him a tenth and a half off Isack Hadjar. McLaren is now planning to run the car as much as possible between now and the chequered flag on Friday evening.
The early part of the running saw McLaren focused on their system checks, in the striking all-black livery ahead of their official launch in Sakhir in February, before the first official test.
This test is being run behind closed doors, meaning reporting of this test has been heavily restricted as it’s a private test organised by the teams with no media access, timing or TV coverage, so we are reliant on teams giving us the information.
Williams confirmed on Wednesday that they are on course to make there debut with the 2026 car in Sakhir next month.
Day Three saw six of the eleven teams on track. Arvid Lindblad for Racing Bull’s, Ollie Bearman for Haas and Nico Hulkenberg for Audi, all three brought out the red flag. The most concerns might be at Audi the German manufacturer, had it running cut short on Monday too.
Bearman, according to ESPN, a tenth and a half behind Franco Colapinto and a tenth faster than fellow Brit Arvid Lindblad. Hulkenberg is a second and a half further behind.
Whether Red Bull changed their run plan overnight, given Isack Hadjar’s crash yesterday, is unknown; also, not running were Ferrari and Cadillac.
Also yet to start their testing programme is Aston Martin with the AMR26 expected on track sometime tomorrow. Aston Martin said earlier in the week their “intention” is to start on Thursday, although they appear to be behind schedule