Five things to look out for at the F1 Barcelona GP

Formula 1 may have only hosted the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, but it is already back with Barcelona as part of a double-header to start the 2026 European stretch.

Kimi Antonelli won from pole in the principality to really eke out a championship lead and go for a sixth consecutive victory this weekend, four off the record held by Max Verstappen.

But teams like Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will all be wanting to end Mercedes’ perfect start to the campaign, while there’s also drama in the midfield following what happened in Monaco.

So, here are five things to look out for in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Antonelli can’t go on winning forever, can he? 

At what point do we stop the question, ‘will George Russell bounce back’, and just shift the focus towards Antonelli and his dominance? Because right now, it looks like nothing will stop the teenage sensation from romping towards his maiden F1 title after five consecutive victories to establish a 68-point lead over his Mercedes team-mate.

This has gone completely against the pre-season assumption. Heading into this year’s regulation change, Mercedes was the obvious favourite, which meant Russell was expected to charge towards his first crown. That was down to two reasons: the Briton’s experience compared to Antonelli’s rawness, and his incredibly strong 2025 compared to his team-mate’s up-and-down rookie campaign.

The gap between the Mercedes pair last year was so large – 169 points, statistically speaking – that it was hard to see how Antonelli could suddenly jump ahead in the pecking order. But credit to him, he has, and it’s as much down to the Italian’s brilliance as it is Russell’s bad luck that the situation is as it is.

Yes the Briton endured problems in Shanghai, Suzuka and Montreal, but he was also completely second-best in Miami and Monaco. So much so that post-Monaco, Russell was completely bewildered as to how the season had unravelled.

He portrayed a man starting to realise that his dreams of a championship this year are starting to slip away. Only for so long can he use Lando Norris and Verstappen’s recovery in 2025 as inspiration for his own turnaround. But at the same time, Antonelli cannot keep on winning, so perhaps this weekend is when Russell will turn the tide.

First Ferrari win for Hamilton?

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Erik Junius

If one was to look at the championship now, Russell isn’t even Antonelli’s closest challenger – because that honour in fact goes to Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver is two points ahead of his old Mercedes team-mate after consecutive runner-up finishes as part of a rejuvenated campaign for the seven-time world champion.

His Ferrari woes last year were well documented, but now driving a car more to his liking, having actually been involved in its development unlike the SF-25, paired with changes to the personnel around him, Hamilton is much more buoyant in 2026 and that first Ferrari victory is knocking on the door.

“It couldn’t be closer. I can’t believe that I’m second in the championship and I’m really happy and thankful for that,” said Hamilton in Monaco. So, will this weekend be the one where he finally tastes victory for Ferrari?

It certainly wouldn’t be a total surprise if he does, because Hamilton has historical success in Barcelona, with a joint-record of six victories alongside Michael Schumacher. Yet, one can’t help but feel that Ferrari missed its golden opportunity in the slow-speed corners of Monaco, because if it couldn’t beat the Silver Arrows then, then the superiority of the Mercedes power unit should come to the fore this weekend.

So it’ll be a tough ask for Hamilton to break his almost two-year victory drought, but it can’t be completely ruled out. All it takes is a mechanical failure for the Mercedes pair and he’s right in the fight.

The first real test of F1 upgrade packages

Barcelona

Photo by: Pirelli

For 2026, F1’s sweeping rules overhaul has shaken up the competitive order. McLaren and Red Bull, which fought for glory in recent years, have been replaced by Mercedes at the top after it finally brought an end to a tough period in its F1 history.

But succeeding in 2026 will be all about development, and teams will only be able to unlock the true potential of their cars through aggressive rounds of upgrades over the course of the season. This began in Miami, when teams up and down the grid brought new parts to the US race, and continued into the next round in Montreal as well.

However, the run of races in Miami, Montreal and Monaco didn’t offer a clear picture of the competitive order due to the layout and conditions at each track. Barcelona, meanwhile, is a circuit the teams are all too familiar with and could provide a much sharper image of how things stand.

Mercedes is likely to remain on top thanks to the dominance of its powertrain, but new parts for Ferrari and Red Bull could close the gap. McLaren, however, remains something of an unknown entity after showing signs of promise in Miami thanks to its new parts, before stumbling across the next two rounds.

In the midfield, Audi, Racing Bulls and Alpine are all out to claim the crown for best of the rest, while new parts for Cadillac and Aston Martin will help the two teams scrap to stay off the bottom.

Monaco GP fallout

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

The Monaco Grand Prix may have taken place last weekend, but one should expect its fallout to continue into Barcelona. That’s because of Pierre Gasly, who dropped from third to seventh after two penalties for pitlane speeding.

But his Alpine team has requested a Right of Review from the FIA to try and overturn the result as it reckons Gasly didn’t actually go over the limit. His penalties were two of an unusually large amount of pitlane offences in Monaco, triggered by its unique configuration and the way speed is measured there.

Instead of taking an instantaneous reading, the FIA calculates an average through the fast lane using transponders and timing loops embedded into the surface. This effectively caught out drivers who shortened their route through the curved pitlane, meaning they covered less distance between timing points despite travelling at the permitted speed.

Believing this happened to Gasly, Alpine is hoping to get him his podium with the hearing due to happen on Thursday. So once that has happened, the Frenchman will no doubt be asked questions about it, especially considering how emotional he was afterwards, claiming to have been “robbed” of his sixth career podium.

Will the future of F1 be on track?

Colton Herta, Hitech GP

Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images

Teams are required to run a driver with no more than two grand prix starts at least twice per car in an FP1 session across the year. Barcelona is a popular place to do so and this weekend is no exception, with Williams, McLaren, Mercedes, Cadillac, Red Bull, Ferrari and Audi all taking their chance with young talent.

Williams has called on Luke Browning, Mclaren will give Leonardo Fornaroli his F1 debut in Barcelona and Audi has recruited Alpine reserve Paul Aron for two FP1 sessions – the second coming next time out in Austria.

Also taking to the track will be Dino Beganovic for Ferrari, Ayumu Iwasa in place of Isack Hadjar at Red Bull and Frederic Vesti in action for Mercedes. Finally, IndyCar-turned F2 racer Colton Herta will also be on track for Cadillac on Friday.

Herta is perhaps the most interesting prospect taking to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as he fights his way through the F2 season after leaving IndyCar on a high. He’s hoping to rack up enough superlicence points to make the move up to F1 with Cadillac one day, so his laps on Friday could provide crucial baby steps towards that goal.

Fornaroli is another exciting young driver, having won the F3 crown in 2024 and the F2 title in 2025 during his first full season in the championship. He now acts as reserve driver for Mclaren and has made no secret of his desire to find a full-time seat to continue racing.

While the chance to run in FP1 will give the F1 hopefuls valuable track time, it’s also an opportunity for teams to assess their prospects as they work to fine-tune set-ups and carry out simulation runs to assist over the race weekend. They’ll also be in search of bragging rights as each rookie seeks to impress their on-track teams.

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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