Overview
- Audi’s R26 ran its first laps at Barcelona on a 200km filming day focused on systems checks rather than performance.
- Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto split the running and posted brief messages marking the milestone.
- The car appeared in an all-black, low-detail guise, with a full reveal scheduled in Berlin on January 20.
- AI‑manipulated stills claiming to show close-up images spread on social media and were debunked once authentic video and team photos emerged.
- The incident fuels concern about misinformation during the January 26–30 closed Barcelona tests and the follow-up sessions in Bahrain in February.