Story byMotorsport photoFilip CleerenWed, February 11, 2026 at 8:40 AM UTC·4 min readMercedes being able to complete a full race simulation on day two of Formula 1's Barcelona shakedown in January was a "laugh in everyone's face", thinks Williams chief James Vowles. Mercedes got off to an ominously strong start to the 2026 pre-season as Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed a full race simulation on day two on Barcelona's shakedown at the end of January. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Mercedes W17 and its HPP power unit, which Antonelli shared with team-mate George Russell, ran reliably throughout, as did its customer engines in the back of the McLaren and Alpine. As a result, Antonelli was able to complete a full race simulation as early as day two while other teams were still well away from that stage, which particularly caught the eye of rival squads."I've been impressed with them," Williams' team principal James Vowles said. "I probably shouldn't be because I used to be a part of it, but for Mercedes to hit the ground and then do a race distance on day two, that's kind of a big laugh in everyone else's face of just exactly how advanced they are in terms of what they're doing right now."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter the positive shakedown, Russell couldn't hide his delight with how the W17 had rolled out, but he also cautioned that the rest of 2025's top four looked in good shape."We left Barcelona with a positive feeling because the car reacted as we anticipated," he said. "The numbers we're seeing from the aero on the car match what we see back on the simulator, how the car is handling is matching how it feels on the simulator.
