F1 Barcelona test day 1: Hadjar fastest in the morning as three red flags interrupt running. Morning session of day 1 at the 2026 F1 Barcelona tests sees Isack Hadjar fastest for Red Bull.

The Formula 1 Barcelona shakedown got underway this morning and, somewhat surprisingly, featured as many as seven out of the eleven teams choosing to head straight out on track.

Red Bull led the field during the first half of the day at Barcelona thanks to Isack Hadjar at the wheel of the RB22, followed by Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes, which appeared very consistent over long runs. There was also a technical update on the Racing Bulls nose, although this new solution ended up causing one of the three red flags seen during the morning session.

The absent teams – two due to force majeure and two by choice – were Williams, Aston Martin Racing, Ferrari and McLaren. All the other outfits debuted their new cars on a track that was initially damp following overnight rain at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with fairly cold temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.

This did not discourage most teams, who immediately took to the track. Looking at the provisional classification at mid-session, it is easy to see how the new cars are already capable of completing a solid number of laps despite being completely new. Almost all concerns related to reliability have faded away: this will not be a repeat of 2014.

The fastest time of the morning session was set by Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull RB22. The Paris-born driver, during a series of runs late in the morning, stopped the clocks at 1’18”835. To give an idea of the pure performance – not for direct comparison, which we want to stress – the qualifying lap record at the circuit stands at 1’11”383, set by Lando Norris in Q3 of the 2024 season.

It is interesting to note that the Red Bull–Ford power units were already able to rack up a total of 79 laps, combining Hadjar’s 41 laps with the 38 completed by Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, who sits fourth, three seconds adrift of his former team-mate’s benchmark.

Between the two Red Bull-powered cars is the Mercedes W17 of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who focused on aerodynamic evaluations of the front wing, with flow-vis paint and wool tufts clearly visible to analyse airflow behaviour. The young Italian was particularly consistent, completing a run in the second half of the morning where he lapped continuously in the high 1’20”s and very low 1’21”s.

Behind Antonelli is Franco Colapinto in the Alpine A526, powered by the Mercedes power unit and seven tenths of a second slower than the Brackley-built car. After Lawson’s fourth place with the Racing Bulls – featuring an interesting aerodynamic solution on the nose, which we have analysed in detail on our website – fifth place is occupied by the Haas VF-26 driven by Esteban Ocon.

The American car holds an important distinction, as it is the one that completed the most laps, with 62 tours completed by 13:00 Italian time. The team led by Ayao Komatsu clearly prioritised data collection over outright performance, which other drivers, such as Hadjar, had already started to explore. Bringing up the rear of the morning classification is Audi with Gabriel Bortoleto. The new Hinwil-built car spent a significant amount of time in the garage due to a technical issue.

There were three red flags that temporarily halted the four-hour test session held today. The first was caused by Franco Colapinto, who stopped briefly on track due to an issue with the Alpine A526. The problem was resolved quickly, allowing the Argentine driver to restart and return to the pits shortly afterwards.

The second red flag was triggered by Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi R26. The Brazilian came to a halt between Turns 6 and 7, and on this occasion the recovery vehicle had to intervene to bring the German car back to the garage.

The third and final red flag involved Racing Bulls. Just after 13:00 (13:08 to be precise), Liam Lawson stopped on track and was forced to wait for the recovery vehicle in order to return to the pits.

F1 2026 – Barcelona shakedown – Classification at 13:00