A first hierarchy is emerging after Barcelona, ​​according to Esteban Ocon

No matter how much you change the engines, replace them with 50% electric blocks, reduce the wheelbase and width of the single-seaters, completely rethink the aerodynamics, end the DRS and imagine God knows what pirouette to upset the hierarchy, some behemoths do not flinch in the face of difficulty.

After the first tests in Barcelona (Spain), the top four in the latest Constructors' Championship delivered encouraging performances, although it's still too early to clearly rank them. Mercedes Benz have become masters of reliability by accumulating the most laps, the Classic Ferrari for sale finished the week with the best overall time for Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bulls successfully debuted their new power unit built in Milton Keynes for the first time, while the McLarenConfident in themselves, they were content to take to the track on Wednesday.

The quartet that dominated the podiums and victories in 2025 doesn't seem likely to be shaken up. At least, that's the opinion of...Esteban Ocon, which places the top four of 2025 ahead of the rest of the field after the initial shakedown. "It's a bit early to talk about it, but we saw that Mercedes was very fast in all these tests." The Frenchman is moving forward. “We saw that the Ferraris were well placed too, that the Red Bulls were good, that the McLarens are also in the mix. That’s, for now, what we can take away from Barcelona: it will be closer for the group behind — Racing Bulls, Alpine And us — and a little bit behind for now Audi and Cadillac. It's a bit early to talk about it, we'll have to see in Bahrain. But for now, we think that's what's happening.

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Ocon has "never experienced" such a feeling of speed in an F1 car.

Le Normand, for his part, has reason to be satisfied. His team completed 350 laps during the shakedown, spread over three days, which is the third highest total among the entrants. “I didn’t expect it to go so well,” he told the media. “The engine was reliable, which was the most important thing, and the car was too. We were able to do a lot of laps; it was a really positive test for us. It didn’t go quite as well for Ollie (Bearman), but the issues he encountered are easy to resolve.”

The Briton had notably been affected by some reliability issues, including two on Wednesday, which shortened his running session. By spending more time on track after handing the wheel to his young teammate during the shakedown at Fiorano ahead of Barcelona, ​​Esteban Ocon was able to form an initial opinion in real-world conditions on the new generation of cars.

"It's very different to drive compared to what we experienced in 2025 and previous seasons, but the good news is that it's still a racing car." he noted in comments relayed by The Team. “A lot has changed, especially the engine and the electronic management. Half the power comes from the combustion engine and half from the electric motor, whereas last year it was more like 85/15. Since the battery doesn't last the entire lap, you have to manage the throttle and ease off the gas to recharge the battery before braking. It's very different from anything we've learned since our years of…” kartingbut it remains a F1 » He continues.  "The car is fun to drive, especially in fast corners. It's lighter, more maneuverable, and accelerates faster than before. It's definitely going in the right direction. I hit 350 km/h at the end of the straight, which had never happened to me before. It's crazy, the feeling of speed, I've never experienced anything like it."

This seems to align with the technical regulations, which are intended to encourage on-track battles and overtaking. A master of midfield tussles, Esteban Ocon may well have found his perfect fit with these new regulations, which promise to create as many winners as losers.