F1 Barcelona pre-season testing live commentary and updates - day 4
F1 2026 starts here! Follow along for updates as they unfold from Barcelona
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"My fav Williams: the one that got Williams its 1st win, driven by the magnificent Clay Regazzoni (remember your scrabble contest from a few days ago!)" says richard.jego.
That was in the 1979 British Grand Prix, as Regazzoni made the most of technical failures for team-mate Jones and Renault's Jean-Pierre Jabouille (whose quirk is that he won two races but scored points on just one other occasion, as he suffered from Renault's unreliable early turbo machinery).
Clay Regazzoni, Williams FW07 Ford
Photo by: Motorsport Images
mark_f1 brings up Williams' first ever title-winning car, which Alan Jones drove to glory in 1980.
Alan Jones, Williams FW07B Ford
Photo by: Motorsport Images
The temperature is a bit nicer now with 13C ambient.
But, again, it's early days. Too early to read into it.
This test is going well for Mercedes, we'll give them that.
Fastest time klaxon!
According to SoyMotor's timing data, Antonelli has set the fastest time of the week, a 1m17.081s.
Nobody else (except team-mate Russell) has lapped in rthe 1m17s bracket this week.
Pepe Turtle has a soft spot for the FW08B.
This little-known car was a six-wheel Williams that should have competed in the 1983 world championship, but the FIA ruled that F1 cars should have four wheels only, so it never raced.
There's Jenson Button driving it in 2018.
Jenson Button drives a 1982 Williams FW08B
Photo by: Andrew Hone / Motorsport Images
On a side note, it is mindblowing how basic 2009-spec F1 cars look now, relative to current machinery.
Granted, they're 17 years old, but still.
More on the MCL40's front wing...
Even though the wheels are narrower this season, they remain a chaotic influence on airflow: not just acting as a blockage by dint of size, but also inducing turbulence around the sides and base through their rotation – not to mention their profoundly messy wake. Anything you can do to steer air away from the wheels is worth exploring.
It’s worth mentioning that back in 2009, when the Brawn BGP001 turned up late in testing and blew rivals away, focus naturally turned to its controversial ‘double diffuser’ at the rear. But actually one of the car’s strongest suits was its relatively well-developed font wing, which was set up to ‘outwash’ air around the front wheels.
Jenson Button, Brawn GP BGP001
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
The front wing is the first part of the car to meet the air, so its characteristics have a strong influence on the flow fields the aerodynamicists are trying to set up around the rest of the car. Since outwashing is one of the factors which makes it difficult for cars to follow each other through corners, the front wing regulations are written to try to prevent teams from exploiting it. But teams, of course, are stuffed with clever people looking for loopholes in these rules.
In this case the top fin on the McLaren’s front wing is likely intended to generate a vortex at the tip which encourages airflow to follow it outside the front wheel.
"Favourite Williams - soft spot for the FW37, which looked stunning in its Martini livery and was fast on low-downforce tracks, scoring several podiums and taking the team to 3rd in the constructors'," says Lotus109 (not my favourite Lotus F1 car, I'll be honest).
But the FW37 indeed was one of the most successful Williams challengers in the past two decades, with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas at the wheel... as well as test driver Susie Wolff.
Susie Wolff, Williams FW37
Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images
cibernite pointed out the top fins on the McLaren (see picture at 9:15am GMT) and inquired about them.
Our tech expert Jake Boxall-Legge clarified they're not exclusive to McLaren and added they provide an extra vortex to play with at the tip, which can help trim the tyre wake a bit when it goes around the tyre.
"Any takers for the launch spec FW26? Now that was a nose," says nathan.mcloughlin.
It sure was! Likened to a walrus, the car sadly didn't live up to expectations.
Here's a little gem for you: Scott Dixon driving it.
Scott Dixon, Williams BMW FW26
Photo by: Sutton Images
Antonelli is fastest in 1m17.913s, according to timing reported by SoyMotor. He has covered 42 laps, with Hamilton on 41.
josh.barton suggested the FW14(B) and brought up Nigel Mansell chasing Ayrton Senna in Monaco. That was a historic victory for the Brazilian, ending the Briton's five-strong winning streak!
Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4-7A Honda, leads Nigel Mansell, Williams FW14B Renault
Photo by: Motorsport Images
We probably need some convivial activity to pass the time as we await more information from the track.
So, as we won't see Williams in action this week, how about everyone's favourite Williams F1 car?
I'll go for the FW19 Jacques Villeneuve drove to the 1997 world title, a personal favourite of mine.
Jacques Villeneuve, Williams FW19 Renault
Photo by: Rainer Schlegelmilch / Getty Images
Drop yours in the comments section, and I'll share pictures here!
A quick recap of everyone who's been on track so far today:
- Cadillac: Perez
- Ferrari: Hamilton
- McLaren: Piastri
- Mercedes: Antonelli
- Racing Bulls: Lawson
Aston Martin is expected to join the fray later.
Alpine, Audi, Haas and Red Bull should be back tomorrow.
There's the MCL40 in its testing livery.
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: McLaren
McLaren is now out on track of its second day of running, currently with Oscar Piastri at the wheel. Lando Norris was in action on Wednesday.
We'll be honest, Nathan, we don't have the Autosport team lurking in the bushes around the track. One of our Spanish colleagues was on the hill overlooking the track earlier but has already had to move to another location farther away due to security staff's ruthless stance.
Anyway, that's a funny and accurate gif you posted there (in the Autosport.com comments section).
This is Hamilton's first dry-weather running with the SF-26. The temperature is around 8C right now.
X account @FormulaNacho has posted a video of Hamilton doing a 360-degree spin in Turn 11. The seven-time world champion kept the Ferrari on the track.
Many of you are asking about Aston Martin, but we don't have any information regarding when they'll run, other than the Honda-powered team having made its way to the circuit.
Red Bull won't run today, Dutch journalist Erik van Haren reports, with the team still waiting for new parts following Isack Hadjar's crash on Tuesday evening.
The Frenchman's accident was reminiscent of Pierre Gasly's own pre-season with Red Bull, which featured costly shunts in 2019 and potentially contributed to setting him up for demotion.
But we'd argue Hadjar won't necessarily follow that same path.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
This week, that Racing Bulls has gone under the radar somewhat, so here it is.
There is visual evidence of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson being in action for Ferrari, Mercedes and Racing Bulls respectively.
As ever, feel free to ask questions in the comments section, and we'll do our best to answer them!
Lewis Hamilton is on track for Ferrari. Meanwhile, there may be a misunderstanding about Red Bull being on track as other sources mention Racing Bulls instead.
Teams are allowed to test on three days out of five, so this will be the last for Mercedes (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday) and Red Bull (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday).
Cadillac and Ferrari previously ran on Monday and Tuesday respectively, so can join us again tomorrow.
SoyMotor (a Spanish outlet which has been providing a lot of information this week) reports that Mercedes, Red Bull, Cadillac and Ferrari are out on track today.
One of the big questions today is: will we see Aston Martin's AMR26 on track for the first time? All signs point to the answer being yes, but how early will it be, now that's harder to say.
As many of you will know by now, this 'shakedown' – as F1 branded it – is taking place behind closed doors. We may not be on site, but we're still bringing you as much information as we can!
Good morning, afternoon, evening – wherever you are in the world – and welcome to Autosport and Motorsport as we follow the penultimate day of Formula 1's Barcelona pre-season test!
By: Autosport Staff
