F1 2026: Red Bull hit ‘remarkable' testing milestone as Ford engine wows insiders

Max Verstappen, Laurent Mekies, generic, Red Bull, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Testing 2026

F1 2026: Red Bull hit ‘remarkable' testing milestone as Ford engine wows insiders

Red Bull impressed during the first day of testing in Barcelona

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 28 January 2026 07:42

Red Bull's F1 testing data from the first day of the Barcelona shakedown left Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater impressed.

Following day one of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Kravitz and Slater examined the unofficial data on their 9pm shakedown show.

The timesheets showed Red Bull star Isack Hadjar had completed 108 laps in the RB22, setting a 'quick time of' 1:18.159. Underneath, Mercedes' George Russell completed a total of 95 laps and set a time of 1:18.696. Esteban Ocon and Haas clocked the most mileage in Barcelona with 154 laps on the first day.

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Kravitz then explained that Russell's time was on a C1 (hard tyre), while Hadjar's was not on the C1, with Mercedes and Red Bull differing on their tyre strategy for testing in Barcelona.

Looking at the number of laps put in by all the drivers and teams on Monday, Kravitz said: “This is incredible for a major rule change, the biggest in living memory, the biggest since the hybrid engines came in in 2014 certainly.”

Remarking on Red Bull's mileage, Kravitz also added: "108 laps from Red Bull, that is eye-catching."

On the energy drink giants and their new technical partnership with Ford, Slater added: "Even George Russell in his official Mercedes release today [Monday, January 26] made a point of noting how impressive the Red Bull was in compiling that amount of laps, given that it was a new engine debuting for the first time.

"The reason we weren't there this week was because F1 was concerned there was going to be breakdowns galore like 2014 was, where only four teams got into double figures on the first day in terms of that lap count," he continued, referring to the Barcelona event being closed to the majority of the media and not broadcast live to the public.

"Those are remarkable numbers really and credit to that Red Bull Powertrains operation, just started what, five years ago? I think it was not even that,” he concluded.

Can we take anything from day one of testing in Barcelona?

While Slater and Kravitz were impressed with the results from day one, it remains just that, with Max Verstappen taking to the track during day two on Tuesday and spinning in his RB22.

Hadjar also ended day two on a sour note after crashing his new F1 car into the wall at Turn 14, bringing the team's running to an end.

Nevertheless, Red Bull's reliability on day one alongside the likes of Mercedes, who have been producing F1 power units since 1994, is still worth congratulating (although whether this continues in season remains another question).

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies previously voiced his concerns about their power unit to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, where he said: "You have to look at it this way: the scale of this challenge is monumental.

"Developing your own engine from scratch shouldn't be underestimated. If you think we'll instantly be on the same level as manufacturers who have been doing this for ninety years, that's not going to happen."

"So yes, we expect the first few months to be tough. And that we'll have headaches and sleepless nights, and that we'll sometimes struggle to get the car out of the garage.

"All true, but we also believe we have the right people, the right partners, and the right facilities to find our way to the top. Be patient and give us time."

What is a shakedown?

A shakedown refers to the first time 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 they are allowed to do each day.

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

Nevertheless, Sky Sports F1 will be on hand to guide viewers through the Barcelona shakedown, with a testing highlights show broadcast at 9pm (GMT) every night of the week of the test. The show will then be available on Sky F1's official YouTube channel.

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Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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Red Bull 2026 regulations pre-season testing Barcelona