F1 fans RAGE after testing feed axed

A Red Bull front wing covered in flow-vis paint during F1 testing — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 fans RAGE after testing feed axed - 'JUST RIDICULOUS'

Pre-season testing in Barcelona is behind closed doors

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 26 January 2026 18:57 Updated: 23:14

F1 fans on social media were left furious on Monday when their only remaining way to follow testing 'live' from Barcelona was apparently removed.

The 2026 F1 cars are out on track this week for the first time this week, with a five-day private shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Teams are being given 11 days worth of testing this year to try and help them iron out any potential teething issues when it comes to the new regulations that are sweeping into the sport.

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Not all teams are using all of the days, however, with Williams' car not ready for them to be present this week in Barcelona, and McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin all waiting until later in the week.

That won't make too much difference to fans, however, with the pre-season testing event not even being broadcast by F1, instead happening behind closed doors.

Day one in Barcelona, and fan fury

F1 were supplying data feeds, allowing those who had access to see the timing sheets as well as things like red and yellow flags and which driver was stepping into each team's car for each session.

Using these, some content creators had opted to do watchalongs on YouTube where they would simply talk about the new season and display the timing sheets for the pre-season testing session.

However, it was reported on Monday afternoon that the data feeds were cut, and that streams would be taken down, with several of the most popular live streams disappearing from YouTube.

This blackout of the first shakedown of the season has been met with anger from F1 fans on social media, who were already annoyed at not being able to watch the on-track action live.

"Ridiculous, just ridiculous," one user said, while another said: "What's the point of doing this?"

Somebody else vented their frustration, saying: "Not fun, not fun at all," while another user commented: "You have to wonder what they gain from this? Instead of having fans discussing the season ahead online and creating a 'buzz' for the sport, now everyone is going to be moaning. It's not like it stops the teams getting the data, as they have a myriad of ways to work times out."

One fan, however, did offer a reason for why F1 might have made the decision to cut the data feeds, saying: "Keeping the private test private."

TV details for F1 Bahrain testing

We might not be able to watch the five-day testing event in Barcelona, but Bahrain testing in February will be able to be viewed by fans.

According to the latest schedule revealed by F1 TV, coverage of the first three days of Bahrain testing from February 11-13 will be limited to just one hour per day - beginning at 3pm UK time (10am Eastern, 7am Pacific). That means the first session of the day will be blacked out completely.

This will come as a bitter blow to fans, who would have been looking forward to two full sessions of coverage each day.

The only good news is that it appears testing of the final three days of testing - February 18-20 - will have full TV coverage with the action beginning at 7am UK time (2am Eastern, 11pm Pacific the previous day on the West Coast).

F1 pre-season testing