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F1’s 2026 Era Opens With Private Barcelona Shakedown as Seven Teams Run

The closed session gives teams space to debug radically new cars ahead of February’s public Bahrain tests.

McLaren's MCL40
Valtteri Bottas hits the track in Barcelona. Image: Formula 1
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Overview

  • Red Bull’s RB22, using the team’s new Ford-linked power unit, completed first laps with Isack Hadjar reported to have set the day’s benchmark time.
  • Mercedes logged heavy mileage and described day one as productive, with Kimi Antonelli running in the morning and George Russell taking over in the afternoon.
  • McLaren and Ferrari plan to start their programs on Tuesday by design, Aston Martin says it intends to run on Thursday and Friday, and Williams is skipping Barcelona entirely due to delays.
  • New entrants Audi and Cadillac turned laps, with Valtteri Bottas debuting the Cadillac before Sergio Perez took over in the afternoon session.
  • The FIA will publish end‑of‑day times from the private run, with two official tests to follow in Bahrain on Feb. 11–13 and Feb. 18–20 before the March 8 season opener in Australia.