Formula One 2026 test: Adrian Newey-designed Aston Martin debuts

Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Racing Bulls and Cadillac also participated on Thursday.

Lewis Hamilton spun his Ferrari outside Turn 10, but he and teammate Charles Leclerc managed to complete 170 laps between them.

“It’s great to be out in the dry,” said seven-times world champion Hamilton. “It was great to be able to understand the tyres… [and get] Little understanding about where the car is.

“I did 85 laps in the morning, which is amazing. Last year we had a worse start in testing, so considering this is a new set of rules it is better than it was in the past.”

“We are still continuing to get as much mileage and knowledge about this engine and car on the aero side as we can.”

At McLaren, Oscar Piastri managed 48 laps before his day was curtailed by a fuel system issue.

Mark Temple, technical performance director, said: “The car is very complex so we decided to bring it back and strip it down to understand where it came from.”

Mercedes once again impressed, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli setting the two fastest times and completing 168 laps between them on the final day of testing.

Teams are only allowed to run on three days out of five and Mercedes has reached its allotment.

“It was a very positive test and we put a lot of mileage into the car, which was the main focus of the test,” Russell said.

“The car drives great, no major issues, no porpoises – which is very good news for all of us, it will put us a few years back. Overall, a good few days.”

Russell’s reference to porpoises relates to an aerodynamic phenomenon that has bedeviled cars from 2022 to 2025. When airflow under the car is disrupted, high-speed rebound can be triggered.

New cars have a different design philosophy so you won’t be affected by it.

He added: “The car was working well, but it’s not about how well it works, it’s about how fast it is on the track and we don’t have any indication of that at the moment.”

“We are in a reasonably good position and I am sure things will change between now and the Bahrain test and I am sure people will bring updates to the car.”

Red Bull hopes to be back on Friday. They were unable to run on Thursday because they were waiting for spare parts.

Lap times cannot be considered representative of performance in the so-called “shake” test, as teams do not disclose which software they are running, fuel load, engine modes and tire compounds all make significant differences in lap times.

There are two further tests for the new season, in Bahrain on February 11, 13, 18 and 20, before the opening race in Australia on March 6 and 8.