Großer Preis von Belgien 2026 - Vorschau

Toto Talks Barcelona-Catalunya

Barcelona is a more traditional, and therefore representative, circuit; it's a real test of a car. It has a long straight and a mix of high, medium, and low-speed corners, so after two Sprint weekends and Monaco, it should give us a better read on our performance. It will be the first weekend where we can understand more clearly our recent updates and where we sit relative to the rest of the field. We need to see how the car behaves, whether the performance is there, and whether we can extract it. Until then, we should be careful not to draw too many conclusions from recent races.

Kimi will naturally take confidence from Monaco, but the focus has to be on continuing to build and doing the job in Barcelona. For George, the last races have not gone his way, but that is part of racing. He is very strong mentally, we know the level he can deliver, and he has the right people around him. The objective is simple: reset, focus on the weekend ahead, and put together the performance we know he is capable of.

Fred will also drive Kimi’s car in FP1. He has been an important part of our development work with the W17 and in helping us understand how to unlock more from the package. This session is a good opportunity for him to connect that simulator work with the real car, and for us to gather another useful data point as we keep working to improve.

Third Driver Insights

Barcelona is a very familiar track. We first ran these new cars there back in January, so it will be interesting to return after the first five months of racing and see how much performance we’ve unlocked.

It’s a high-speed, technical circuit with a mix of fast and slow corners, which always makes finding the right setup quite challenging. Tyre management will also be key, especially on the rear tyres, which tend to take a lot of energy.

I’ll be driving in FP1, so I’m very excited to get my first taste of the W17. It is something I’ve been waiting for since the beginning of the year. I’ll also be working closely with the team throughout the weekend.

Did you know?

• This weekend marks George’s 100th Grand Prix driving for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team – his first came at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. 
• This year marks the last year that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya retains a permanent place on the calendar; moving forward it will be in a rotational system with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
• Most of the track’s low-speed turns are left-handers and most of the right-handers are taken at high speeds.  This poses a challenge for setting up the car, with asymmetric setups an option. That track characteristic also means the left tyres wear out quicker, while the right tyres experience lower temperatures.
• 24 of the 34 races that have taken place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya have been won from pole.
• Barcelona first appeared on the calendar in 1991 and has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix in every season since until this year, where the Spanish Grand Prix is hosted in Madrid.
• Lewis Hamilton recorded his 100th pole position at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix while driving for the team.
• Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most consecutive wins at a Grand Prix circuit with five in Barcelona (2017-2021). He shares this record with Ayrton Senna and Monaco (1989-1993).