Alpin evaluated the first drive of the Mercedes-powered vehicle positively and said that the race at Silverstone gave the team confidence before the preparations for the 2026 season.

The Enstone team is working as a Mercedes customer for the first time, abandoning Renault’s own engine on the eve of new rules. On a rainy and cold shooting day, Pierre Gasly rode 140 km of the allowed 200 km, and the program was shortened only due to weather conditions. Despite this, the A526 with Mercedes engine and transmission operated without any technical problems.

Flavio Briatore, one of the team leaders, noted that the silence on the radio was the main positive point:

“For the first time in my long career in Formula 1, a car goes, comes back, comes out again and nothing else happens. Usually we talk about temperature, oil and settings. The radio was silent here. That’s good news.”

“We covered less than 150 km due to aquaplaning. There was no point in risking the car.”

Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula 1 driver to demonstrate the new active aerodynamics that will be used from the 2026 season.

On Friday, Hamilton took to the track at Fiorano, where Ferrari held the first races of its new generation car, immediately after the official presentation. The seven-time world champion completed his laps before handing over his car to Charles Leclerc, and active aerodynamics were recorded for the first time in these races.

For the first time, cameras recorded the operation of the moving elements of the front wing, which could not be seen in the first test drives of Audi, Cadillac, Racing Bulls, Mercedes and Alpin – at that time no images of the operation of the new moving wings were published.

The rear wing operates on a similar principle to conventional DRS; only the space between the elements widens. At the same time, the elements on the front wing that create downforce when activated move downwards, significantly changing the aerodynamic balance of the car.

I believe this is the first time we have seen active aero with these regulations, as Lewis Hamilton’s rear wing opened in the SF-26 as he came down the straight. pic.twitter.com/9qJzN9Fkz8

— Daniel Valente 🏎️ (@F1GuyDan) January 23, 2026

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasser has announced when the team will make its debut on the track in the Formula 1 pre-season test to be held in Barcelona next week.

Five-day tests are held behind closed doors and teams are testing the new generation 2026 cars.

During the five days in Barcelona, ​​each team will be able to use its car for a maximum of three days. Combined with the two tests in Bahrain, this makes for a total track time of nine days.

McLaren had announced that he would miss the first days of testing and potentially only race on Wednesday. The Ferrari SF-26 will make its track debut on Tuesday, February 27, after which the team will make other plans for the rest of the week.

“This is a very emotional day for us. The launch of a new project is always an important event. This is especially true this year because of the completely new rules for 2026. We have come a long way so far and I think it has gone quite well.”

“This is a good start, so let’s be positive and enjoy the process. Now we need to focus on Barcelona. We will start testing on Tuesday and then, taking into account the rules, we will determine when to go on track on Thursday.”

“A lot of work has been done, especially at the power plant, in recent weeks, months and possibly years. We are pleased with today’s preparations. This is not the end of the story, but the beginning of the season.”