According to unofficial timing, Lewis Hamilton was fastest for Ferrari with a 1:16:348s at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Mercedes front man George Russell was second quickest on a 1:16.445 ahead of McLaren’s newly-crowned champion Lando Norris.

Russell has already been identified among the favourites for this year’s F1 title.

A new set of regulations have flipped the script, with new chassis rules, new engine rules, and new driver aids.

Speaking at the W17 launch, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he was happy with the Barcelona shakedown but said he did not have a proper read on his rivals.

“I think the highlight in the Barcelona shakedown was the reliability of the power unit and the car,” said Wolff.

“It was about clocking miles, but making sure that all the systems would function properly – the interaction of the power unit and the chassis.

“Fine-tuning some of the new toys that we have in boosting the engine, and that was pretty successful.

“Other than that, it’s really difficult to interpret times because we haven’t seen our competitors really on low fuel runs. Neither have we seen them running really well over three days.

“Obviously they had their problems, so we really don’t have a performance picture, contrary to what many people think.”

DRS is gone, though the top element of the rear wing remains moveable via a low drag setting that also lowers elements of the front wing.

Unlike DRS, the active aero can be used at any time.

Like DRS, the new overtake mode can only be used when the trailing car is within a second of the preceding car. The overtake mode draws power from the hybrid system.

Wolff said the new regulations will have a “great impact” on the racing.

“We are adding another dimension when it was the DRS that allowed us to slipstream each other and overtake, now we have more functionality,” Wolff explained.

“There is this strategic, almost chess-like component that comes into play where drivers can decide where they are going to call upon more power for overtaking and for doing these kinds of games. I think it’s going to be fantastic.

“Also, for our younger audience, it becomes even more of a video game character without taking anything away from the sport. The best man and best machine is going to win.”

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Mercedes has not been a contender for the drivers’ championship since 2021 when Lewis Hamilton lost out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in dramatic circumstances.

During the recent ground effect era, Mercedes took big swings with its design that ultimately proved fruitless.

The team lost its seven-time champion Hamilton to Ferrari. Now it’s relying on Russell and young Kimi Antonelli to earn its first championship since 2020.

“We obviously had some more challenging times in the last few years. Respectable, but challenging,” said Wolff.

“There is so much love and determination and passion that has gone into developing the power unit, which obviously had a very long lead time.

“It’s been many years that HPP has been working on the new power unit, whilst keeping the current ones, or the 2025, running and competitive.

“On the chassis side, a monumental effort, because we had our Navy Seal team that made the best out of the 2025 car – that’s how we called it, because it’s literally a small group that was deployed to win.

“At the same time, practically most of the engineering side in Brackley was working on the 2026 car. There is so much excitement that has already built up to see — is the car going to be good?”