Mercedes leads preseason testing mileage as Ferrari shows hidden pace

Mercedes-powered cars completed over 1,100 laps during Formula 1's preseason test in Barcelona, demonstrating strong reliability, while Ferrari quietly showed promising single-lap speed with Lewis Hamilton setting the fastest time of the week.

Why it matters:

Preseason testing mileage is a critical, though not definitive, indicator of a power unit's reliability and a team's operational smoothness. Mercedes' high lap count suggests a stable platform for its four customer teams, while Ferrari's combination of solid mileage and top speed hints at a car with strong potential if its performance can be translated over a race distance.

The details:

• Mercedes engines, powering the works team plus McLaren, Williams, and Aston Martin, logged a field-leading 1,134 laps around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
• Ferrari-powered cars, including the works Scuderia and Haas, were a close second in mileage, completing just 14 laps short of the 1,000-lap mark.
• Despite the mileage gap, Lewis Hamilton set the quickest lap time of the test in the Ferrari SF-24, indicating the team may have a competitive qualifying pace.
• Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT), supplying Red Bull and Racing Bulls, recorded the third-most laps (622), leading the new-for-2026 manufacturer group.
• Honda, now exclusively powering Aston Martin, gathered the least data with only about a day's worth of running, complicating their preparation.

What's next:

The true pecking order will only be revealed at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Mercedes' reliability provides a valuable foundation, but Ferrari's apparent single-lap performance will face the ultimate test over a full race weekend. All eyes will be on whether Honda can overcome its limited test running and if RBPT's new units can maintain their shown reliability under competitive pressure.