F1 SHAKEDOWN: MORE DATA POINTS THAN VERDICTS

Five days of private testing at Montmeló have made one thing clear above all else: it is still far too early to draw definitive conclusions. These sessions felt like a long, structured shakedown, aimed more at validating concepts than establishing a competitive order. Even so, a few interesting signals did emerge.

The outright benchmark time belongs to Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion ended the afternoon with the fastest overall lap, confirming the positive impressions already shown in previous days by Charles Leclerc. The SF-26 proved to be reliable, consistent, and—when required—genuinely quick, a far from trivial detail at this early stage of the season.

According to unofficial timings, Hamilton stopped the clock at 1:16.348 on soft tires, a lap just marginally quicker than those set by George Russell and Lando Norris. Figures that must be treated with caution, but which nonetheless point to a driver already fully integrated into Ferrari’s new project. Hamilton himself noted that the feeling with the SF-26 is completely different from what he experienced with the SF-25, a clear sign of a technical change in direction noticeable from the very first laps.

From a mileage perspective, Maranello has plenty to be satisfied with: 141 total laps in a single day for the Ferrari driver pairing. Encouraging feedback also came from Haas, which shares Ferrari power units—85 laps for Ocon and an impressive 108 for Bearman, albeit with lap times still well off the pace.

McLaren-Mercedes worked quietly but with great discipline. By the end of his three-day test program, Lando Norris reached a 1:16.5, a reassuring time that above all highlights the strong reliability of the Mercedes power unit. The high lap count allowed the Woking-based team to explore a wide range of technical solutions, without ever forcing a search for outright performance.

No headline-grabbing moments from Red Bull-Ford. Max Verstappen logged significant mileage, but the single-lap performance was never the objective—an approach fully consistent with a team that has long treated testing as a laboratory rather than a showcase.

Among Mercedes-powered teams, Alpine stood out for the sheer volume of work completed. Pierre Gasly covered an impressive 160 laps in a single day, a figure that speaks to a program clearly focused on data collection and reliability development.

Measured progress for Audi. Nico Hülkenberg (78 laps) and Gabriel Bortoleto (67) increased their overall mileage, but the gap remains substantial—almost four seconds off Ferrari’s reference time. A first outing instead for Aston Martin-Honda, with Fernando Alonso at the wheel. An understandably cautious debut, aimed more at validating the project’s foundations than delivering immediate answers.

Finally, Cadillac. The team’s Formula 1 debut, with Valtteri Bottas driving, was filled with excitement but also uncertainty. Despite running a Ferrari power unit, numerous issues surfaced, and the amount of work still required appears significant.

In short, Montmeló delivered no verdicts. What it did provide were the first technical narratives—and for now, Ferrari’s story is one of solidity, method, and a Lewis Hamilton who already looks remarkably comfortable. The rest will come later, when testing gives way to the first real answers from the racetrack.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.