Having completed his final session of a productive four days of F1 2026 shakedown testing in Barcelona, Kimi Antonelli declared the week a success.
The Italian completed 90 laps of running and declared the week a success as the team now shifts its focus to the official pre-season test in Bahrain.
Kimi Antonelli on making the most of the F1 2026 Barcelona shakedown
When asked to sum up his running throughout the F1 shakedown, Antonelli’s summary was positive.
“Yeah, I think it was a pretty good shakedown,” he said.
“We did a lot of laps also today, 90 laps. So, really good mileage for the team.”
“I’m happy because I’ve been learning quite a lot about the car.”
Alongside teammate George Russell, who set the overall fastest time of the day, the pair have given the team some valuable laps to analyse.
Understanding the 2026 F1 power unit
Despite lap times being incredibly deceptive in testing, Antonelli detailed a shakedown in Barcelona focused on understanding the behaviour of the F1 2026 power units.
These new units feature a major increase in electrical energy, Antonelli noted, “We tried different modes and just to have a better understanding of the battery and how it behaves.
“Today was a bit more focused on soft tyres… to see how the car was responding,” he explained.
It’s critical for each team to understand and unlock the full potential of power units under the new regulations.
Antonelli learning the W17’s intricacies at Barcelona’s shakedown
The week was not without its challenges, with Antonelli acknowledging “issues during the shakedown.”
However, he stressed the team’s ability to resolve them, boosting his confidence for the next phase of testing.
“Obviously we were able to fix them,” he said.
“Now we can be sure that in Bahrain we can more or less hit the ground running there as well.”
Focusing on the team, not the noise
Despite the internet buzzing with speculation after glimpses of Red Bull, Audi, and Ferrari’s new cars, Antonelli appeared indifferent.
When asked if he had learnt anything from rivals on track, his response was focused.
“We’ve been focusing on ourselves because obviously it’s very hard to say where the others are,” he noted.
“Everyone is doing such a completely different programme. So, it’s hard to say how fast we are compared to others.
“The main goal is also in the next Bahrain [test] is going to be to, you know, just focus on ourselves and keep working on the car.”
