F1 testing 2026: Barcelona shakedown times as Isack Hadjar stars

Credit for photo: Red Bull Content Pool — Photo: © IMAGO

Pre-Season Testing 2026

F1 testing 2026: Barcelona shakedown times as Isack Hadjar stars

The first day of testing got underway today

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 26 January 2026 18:17 Updated: 15:46

F1 pre-season testing kicked off today at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but unfortunately fans were not able to watch it, with the private shakedown subject to a coverage blackout.

There are 11 days of testing ahead of the new season, with F1 and the FIA giving teams as much time as possible to get themselves ready for the regulations overhaul.

But amid the blackout, some information was provided by F1 on the times and which teams did the most laps, as well as details of red and yellow flags using a data feed.

Here is what happened in the two sessions on Monday in Barcelona.

What happened during Barcelona morning session?

Article continues under video

At the track today, there were only seven teams, with Williams not ready to play any part whatsoever in the Barcelona test, and McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin all joining later in the week.

But the teams that were there made the most of their time, getting in plenty of laps, particularly in the morning session.

Kimi Antonelli made a strong start for Mercedes, putting in 56 laps of running and topping the timesheets for large parts of the morning session.

However, it was Red Bull's new driver Isack Hadjar who ended up fastest in the morning session, with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson second, in what was a positive start for Red Bull's new power units.

Haas' Esteban Ocon put in the most laps of the morning session, however, completing 67 laps which the Haas team would have been dreaming of for the first morning of testing.

Alpine reportedly caused the first red flag of pre-season testing, although scant details came through about what actually caused that red flag.

Who was the fastest driver in pre-season testing today?

There were fewer details released about the afternoon session, but we do know that George Russell took over in the Mercedes car from Antonelli, and continued with the Brackley-based outfit's impressive first day.

Russell set a time of 1:18.696 around the former home of the Spanish Grand Prix, which was reportedly two tenths quicker than Hadjar's pace-setting morning time.

However, Hadjar was also reported to be fastest in the afternoon too with a time of 1:18.452.

Overall in the day, Mercedes and Haas both completed over 100 laps-worth of testing, while Red Bull and Racing Bulls completed over 50 apiece.

With it being a private shakedown, not too many more details were released, but all teams that were present were said to have good reliability from the off, which is a positive sign amid the wholesale regulation changes.

What is a shakedown?

A shakedown refers to the first time that teams can properly run their cars on track, like a pre-season health check.

Teams get the chance to test out all of the new design features on their new cars without limitations, with no maximum limit put on the number of laps that they are allowed to do each day.

The private shakedown means that the press do not have access, and only a small crew are admitted to film content for teams and drivers.

Nevertheless, Sky Sports will be on hand to guide viewers through the Barcelona shakedown, with a testing highlights show broadcast on their Sky Sports F1 channel at 9pm each night. Also keep an eye on their socials for live reaction a little earlier than that.

F1 TESTING 2026: Key dates, times and how to watch live

pre-season testing