“Ferrari has more understeer”: Kimi Antonelli analyzes 2026 rivals from the trackside. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli was sidelined by power unit issues during Bahrain testing.

Problems hit the Mercedes garage during the morning session of Day 2 at the Bahrain F1 test. The one who paid the price was Italian driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who managed to complete only three laps during the time slot that had been allocated to him to run the W17.

The Stuttgart-based team was forced to carry out a full power unit change in order to allow George Russell to complete his scheduled program without risking further technical setbacks.

Antonelli, an ‘undercover’ spy in Sakhir

With his track time cut short, Andrea Kimi Antonelli suddenly found himself with plenty of free time — and he decided to use it wisely. The young Mercedes driver positioned himself trackside to study the potential of rival cars. Not exactly an undercover spy, if we want to call him that.

“I’m trying to understand the behavior of the different cars. How much they bottom out under braking and how early they are able to get back on the throttle, for example. These are details that help you understand the overall picture compared to what we are able to do. I’m trying to get a 360-degree view,” he told Ivan Capelli (Sky Sport F1 correspondent).

But what exactly did the Mercedes driver learn from his unusual experience watching from the sidelines?

The Italian shared his assessment: “Red Bull looks to be in very good shape. McLaren, a bit like last year, has an impressive front end. Ferrari should also have a good car. If I have to point something out, I think the SF-26 has more understeer compared to Red Bull and McLaren, but they look strong,” Kimi concluded.

While Mercedes focuses on resolving its early reliability concerns, Antonelli’s observations provide an interesting snapshot of the competitive picture emerging from Bahrain. With Red Bull and McLaren appearing sharp and Ferrari showing promise despite some understeer, the early signs suggest that the fight at the front could once again be incredibly tight heading into the 2026 Formula 1 season.

These “spy missions” illustrate the maturity of a rookie who, even when sidelined by reliability, remains fully focused on the technical nuances of the sport. As Mercedes works to resolve their power unit gremlins, Kimi Antonelli’s feedback from the fences might just give the Brackley engineers a different perspective on where they stand against the benchmark pace of Red Bull and McLaren. The focus now turns to whether Ferrari can dial out that understeer before the first race in Melbourne.