2026 F1 Barcelona Pre‑Season Test: Day 1 Morning Results

Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar set the early pace at Barcelona’s shakedown, posting a 1:18.835 lap that left the rest of the field more than a second and a half behind. The French rookie’s time gives Red Bull a strong data point as teams begin to fold in the new 2026 technical regulations.

Why it matters:

The session offers the first real benchmark for how the 2026 aero and power‑unit changes translate into lap time, with Red Bull’s early lead hinting at a competitive baseline while midfield teams gauge their starting points.

The details:

• Hadjar’s 1:18.835 topped the sheet, 1.865 s ahead of Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) and over 2.5 s clear of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto.
• Two red‑flag stops came when Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) halted on track with separate issues.
• Cadillac debuted with Valtteri Bottas, who ran a 1:24.651, roughly five seconds off the lead.
• Teams logged 274 laps total, using the time to collect baseline data on tyre wear, brake temps and fuel consumption rather than chase outright speed.

What's next:

Day 2 will keep the focus on data collection and long‑run simulations. As the shakedown shifts to the full‑scale pre‑season test in Jerez, early gaps will be watched but are far from decisive for the championship.