Mercedes dominates Barcelona testing, while Cadillac struggles with technical issues, severely limiting Checo Pérez's track time.
Mercedes was one of the teams that left the strongest impression on the first day of private testing in Barcelona; but behind that solid performance, another story caught attention: Cadillac and Checo Pérez were left with very little track time due to technical problems, prioritizing troubleshooting over logging laps.
The main focus for many teams on Monday was to rack up mileage after the regulation changes; but Mercedes managed to establish a stable base early on. The German team completed a good number of laps and avoided the setbacks that affected other new operations, showing organization, pace, and reliability from the very first moment.
Meanwhile, for the American team Cadillac, the day was the complete opposite. Sergio “Checo” Pérez finished with just 11 laps around the Montmeló circuit, a figure that fell far short of the original plans and of what was expected in a key first preseason test. The Mexican driver was limited on track because the team decided to focus on fixing technical issues before heading back out for extended running in the afternoon.
Cadillac’s decision, as explained by team boss Graeme Lowdon, was deliberate: “We could have done more laps this afternoon with Checo Pérez, or we could choose to resolve certain issues, make sure they’re fixed, and tick them off the list. And that’s the most important thing.” The quote makes it clear what the team’s priority was on this test day: correcting fundamental issues before thinking about accumulating track time.
The comparison with Mercedes was obvious. The German outfit was able to complete its program normally and without drama; something that carries even more weight in such a limited shakedown, where every lap matters because teams can only run three of the five days. Several teams, such as Audi and Alpine, suffered stoppages; but Mercedes was able to keep its rhythm without having to halt its workflow.
There were also five teams absent in Barcelona on Monday, including McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, and Aston Martin; which put outfits like Mercedes and Cadillac in the spotlight. But the takeaway was clear: where some teams were able to run, others were stuck in the garage fine-tuning details.
Lowdon also pointed out that the previous test at Silverstone had been really good, although he admitted there is still a lot of work to do with the new car. His focus is now on using the shakedown to iron out all systems and arrive in better shape for the official tests in Bahrain.
For Mercedes, on the other hand, the first day was valuable precisely because of what didn’t happen: no stoppages, no technical issues, and a solid number of laps completed. The German team got off to a positive start in a preseason that is shaping up to be demanding.