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2026 F1 Era Opens With Barcelona Shakedown as Hadjar Sets Pace and Colapinto Debuts

Closed‑door running offered only tentative benchmarks under the overhauled 2026 rules.

Overview

  • Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar topped the times on Day 1, leading the morning and returning as the benchmark in the afternoon session.
  • Alpine’s Franco Colapinto completed his first official laps, triggered the first red flag after a stoppage, then resumed to post a competitive time that placed him third in the morning.
  • Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto caused the second red flag; seven teams ran, with McLaren and Ferrari delaying their first outings and Williams skipping Barcelona due to development delays.
  • Mercedes logged significant mileage as Andrea Kimi Antonelli featured near the top in the morning and George Russell emerged as a frontrunner in the later running.
  • The shakedown is being conducted under restricted access across five days, with each team selecting three, before two Bahrain test blocks in February ahead of the early‑March season start.