Mercedes leader The shakedown in Barcelona highlighted a great state of form for Mercedes, which seemed to be the most fearsome team to the competitors in terms of the number of laps completed and reliability. Elements that have indicated the Anglo-German team as the potentially favorite to win the world championship, but with other tests still to be carried out in Sakhir from 11 to 13 February and from 18 to 20 of the same month (also in Bahrain) further details could emerge from all the teams, and not just from Mercedes. Patrese’s opinion The fact remains that, even among former Formula 1 drivers, there are beliefs that Toto Wolff’s team is the one to beat for the 2026 season, and among these there is Riccardo Patrese. Winner of 6 GPs in his long career, the Paduan believes that the Brackley manufacturer has the credentials to be able to win the title, but at the same time he did not want to exclude other important teams that could seriously hinder the mission of Russell or Antonelli: “Mercedes has already demonstrated, with the last change four years ago, that they are very good and that they immediately found the right solutions – he explained in an interview with https://www.betvictor.com/en-gb/casino – everyone says that They’re also good with the new project, but I’m curious to see how they behave compared to their opponents.” Not just Mercedes “Everyone is talking about Mercedes, but who knows if Adrian Newey will have a good car with Honda – he continued referring to Aston Martin – we know that when they produce a good engine, Honda is not bad at all. The new changes make the championship interesting for the fans, the public and the media, otherwise it would be boring as it was for much of last year. We already knew that McLaren would be the team to beat. Now, anything can happen, so it’s good for curiosity. At the moment Mercedes is the favorite for the constructors’ title, but remember that McLaren has a Mercedes engine! McLaren has a team capable of producing a good, excellent car. So, we have to see how McLaren will behave with these new rules.”
