Red Bull find themselves in difficulty after Isack Hadjar’s crash, with the risk of missing upcoming test days in Barcelona now becoming very real.
During the second day of the 2026 Formula 1 tests in Barcelona, the first real warning sign of the new season arrived. The accident involving Isack Hadjar at the wheel of the Red Bull during testing could, in fact, have far broader consequences than a simple early end to the session, especially at a stage when even top teams are dealing with a limited availability of spare parts. Follow the LIVE tests here.
A context already complicated by rain
Tuesday’s running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was heavily affected by bad weather. Rain over the Montmeló area pushed many teams to remain in the garage, postponing their on-track work in the hope of better conditions over the following days.
In reality, only Ferrari and Red Bull were seen running consistently, with the Milton Keynes-based team determined not to stop in order to continue gathering crucial data on the new car and on the 2026 power unit.
A decision that was understandable, but also a risky one. It is no coincidence that several teams chose to avoid running on a wet track precisely to reduce the risk of accidents at a stage when the cars are still largely unknown and spare parts are in short supply.
Hadjar’s crash and the damage to the car
In the afternoon, however, Red Bull’s plan came undone. The RB driven by Isack Hadjar hit the barriers on the exit of the final corner of the Barcelona circuit, a very fast section that leaves little margin for error, especially in low-grip conditions.
Images circulating on social media show a heavily damaged car, with the rear wing completely destroyed.
The incident could not have come at a worse moment, as it occurred late in the day and involved a car that represents a completely new project, built under significantly revised regulations.
Later in the evening, confirmation of the cautious approach surrounding the situation also arrived, with team principal Laurent Mekies admitting how delicate the moment is:
“The team is really looking forward to the next opportunity to run, but it’s something we are trying to analyse now and we hope to have some answers a bit later.”
“The priority right now, as we speak this evening, is to assess the damage on the car and understand what it means in terms of opportunities to get back on track over the next few days,” he said.
“We only have one day left, so we need to make sure we approach it carefully, and it’s an analysis that will still take a few more hours.”
Limited spare parts and extra work for the mechanics
The real issue now concerns Red Bull’s ability to get the car back on track. At this early stage of the season, even the leading teams do not have a large stock of spare components available.
Each element has been produced in limited numbers and, in many cases, has not yet been validated across multiple examples.
This means the mechanics will have to work intensively to dismantle, inspect and rebuild a car that the team itself does not yet know as thoroughly as it would during the middle of the season.
Third and fourth test days at risk
In light of what has happened, it is difficult to imagine Red Bull managing to rebuild the car in time to run during the third day of testing, which was originally planned in the team’s programme.
If Red Bull are unable to source the necessary spare parts, there is also a concrete risk that the Austrian team could be forced to skip the fourth day of testing as well, while waiting for new components to arrive from Milton Keynes.
In that scenario, Red Bull would only be able to return to the track on the final day of testing in Barcelona, scheduled for Friday, 30 January.
The incident in Barcelona highlights the razor-thin margins teams are working with as the 2026 era begins, where a single driver error can jeopardize an entire week of developmental data. As Laurent Mekies and the Red Bull engineers evaluate their inventory, the pressure is on the Milton Keynes factory to replenish the spare parts supply before the team falls too far behind their rivals. With the final days of the test approaching, the priority has shifted from performance testing to a simple race against the clock to get the RB22 back on the circuit.
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