F1 Barcelona Test: Mercedes Leads, Aston Martin Lags – Day 4 Report

Aston Martin finally hit the track in the closing stages of the fourth day of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona, while Mercedes continued to rack up the kilometers and McLaren’s day was cut short by technical issues.

After completing over 90 laps each on Wednesday, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell shared driving duties on Thursday, running a mix of long runs and shorter bursts to evaluate the various power unit modes.

Russell posted the fastest unofficial time of 1m16.6s, but the focus in Barcelona isn’t about chasing headline-grabbing lap times or setting benchmarks. Instead, teams are prioritizing data collection and mileage, and Mercedes has clearly excelled in that area.

With the Barcelona test complete, Mercedes can head home confident they’ve logged the most laps of any team with their W17, which has proven reliable throughout the week and received positive feedback from both drivers.

“We’re going [to the Bahrain tests] with a lot of confidence and high hopes because it’s definitely gone well,” said Antonelli. “Obviously, we had our problems during the setup, but we were able to fix them and now we can be sure that in Bahrain we’ll be able to get off to a good start as well.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Aston Martin managed only a handful of laps on Thursday after delivering their car to the circuit on Wednesday, having previously announced a delayed track appearance to fine-tune their AMR26.

Lance Stroll finally took the wraps off the unpainted AMR26, designed by Adrian Newey, completing five laps in the final hour. The car sported a unique sidepod and engine cover design that immediately set it apart from the competition.

Stroll triggered a red flag after stopping with just minutes remaining in the session, scheduled to end at 6:00 PM local time. Fernando Alonso is expected to pilot the Honda-powered machine on Friday, the fifth and final day of the shakedown.

Oscar Piastri stepped into the new McLaren MCL40, taking over from teammate and reigning World Champion Lando Norris, for the second day of testing. After 48 laps, the Australian was confined to the garage in the afternoon as the team investigated a fuel system issue.

“It was great to be back out there today, especially with the new car,” said Piastri. “There are a lot of challenges for everyone on the grid this year, so it’s been good to get to work. We had a problem with the fuel system that shortened our day, but the team is working hard to fix it and get back out there tomorrow.”

McLaren Performance Technical Director Mark Temple added: “The car is very complex, so we decided to bring it back to the garage and disassemble it to fully understand where the problem is coming from, ahead of running tomorrow.”

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo: McLaren

Lewis Hamilton returned to the Ferrari SF-24 after running only in wet conditions on Tuesday, completing 85 laps in the dry despite a spin exiting Turn 11 on his out lap, as cold track temperatures impacted tire grip.

Liam Lawson also ran in the morning for Racing Bulls VCARB 03, a team that has now completed its three allotted test days. Cadillac also maximized its track time, with Sergio Pérez at the wheel after a quiet debut on Monday.

Alpine, Audi, Haas, and Red Bull sat out Thursday’s session and are expected to return to the track on Friday. Red Bull is believed to have brought replacement parts from Milton Keynes to repair damage from Isack Hadjar’s crash on Tuesday.

Barcelona F1 Shakedown – Day 4 Lap Count

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– The Motorsport.com Team