KUALA LUMPUR — From the Barcelona shakedown to the Bahrain pre-season tests, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One (F1) Team showed promising signs, translating preparation into a dominant one-two finish at the opening race of the 2026 season in Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne and carrying that momentum into the subsequent race in Shanghai, China
The Silver Arrows was reportedly racking up more mileage, around 1,200 laps than other rivals during the testing in Barcelona in January and Bahrain last month.
This intensive testing programme comes amid updated FIA Formula One regulations for the 2026 season, which introduce revised aerodynamic parameters, greater electrification within the power unit, and stricter efficiency requirements aimed at improving sustainability and on-track competitiveness.
The regulatory reset has compelled teams to undertake more extensive data-gathering and validation runs to optimise car performance, reliability and energy deployment strategies ahead of the season opener.
Yet, lead driver George Russell reminded that testing form counts for little once the lights go out in Albert Park Circuit.
“I think we’ve definitely got the potential to fight for a great result. The three tests that we have done between Barcelona and then the two in Bahrain, the car was performing very, very well.
“But there are some reliability concerns that we have to overcome because to win the race, first you have to finish,” he said in a media roundtable with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, here, recently, ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old Briton also embraced the shift toward a more compact design of the car in the new season, admitting that the previous generation of F1 cars had become ‘too big’ and felt heavy ‘like a bus’ in the corners.
“Being lighter, I think, is great and I really hope in the years to come we can continue to reduce the weight because this is Formula One and the cars need and want to be as light as possible,” he said.
The new 2026 regulations stipulate, among others, that the new cars must be 20 centimetres (cm) shorter, 10cm narrower and around 30 kilogrammes lighter, with a shortened wheelbase that makes them more nimble and more responsive through corners.
