Ferrari closed the morning session of the Barcelona shakedown at Montmelò in first place thanks to Charles Leclerc, who approached the reference times set by Mercedes. McLaren and Red Bull followed, while Aston Martin began accumulating consistent mileage with Fernando Alonso at the wheel.
In this closed-door shakedown that Formula 1 is conducting at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, lap times do not carry any real significance. This has been repeated consistently throughout the week, and the focus remains on collecting data rather than performance. Nevertheless, it was clear that Ferrari fans were excited in the late morning when they saw the timing sheets.
After starting the session on C1 and C2 tires, corresponding to Hard and Medium compounds for this week, Charles Leclerc broke the 1:17 barrier on Medium tires, becoming the third driver to achieve this over the five days of testing after the two Mercedes drivers. He then further improved his time to 1:16.653 on Soft tires (C3), solidifying Ferrari’s first position in the provisional morning standings.
Leclerc completed 79 laps in the Ferrari SF-26, a figure that is perhaps the most encouraging. Reliability appears already strong, although it will need to be confirmed when the pace inevitably increases, shifting the focus from data collection to outright competition against rivals, as every team is currently focused on data gathering at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Leclerc remained the only driver of the morning to go under 1:17. In second place was the McLaren MCL40 driven by Oscar Piastri. For the Woking-based team, the focus continued on aerodynamic evaluation and routine data collection. Piastri’s best time of 1:17.446 was eight-tenths slower than Leclerc and a full second behind the fastest time of the five days, which belongs to George Russell at 1:16.445.
The Australian driver was the second most active on track, equal to Leclerc, completing 79 laps, one more than Pierre Gasly in the Alpine A526. Gasly completed 78 laps and placed fifth in the morning standings, unable to break the 1:19 barrier.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also put in a solid morning with 69 laps and a best time of 1:18.285. The Milton Keynes team returned to track following the crash of Isack Hadjar at the final corner earlier in the week. Replacement parts for the right rear wing and suspension were installed to allow the four-time world champion to properly assess the RB22. Today, Verstappen focused on gathering mileage, as Hadjar had already completed his test program for the car.
Oliver Bearman was the most active driver in the morning, completing 105 laps in the Haas VF-26. His fourth-place time was just two-tenths behind Verstappen, but the total mileage is what impressed the team. Completing nearly the distance of two full Grands Prix is encouraging, especially for a team that experienced several issues with the car the previous day.
Encouraging signs also came from Audi. Gabriel Bortoleto completed 64 laps in the R26, nearly a full Grand Prix distance. While the lap times were not competitive, the mileage was valuable. Bortoleto placed sixth, roughly four seconds behind the morning benchmark time.
Aston Martin ran more consistently than in the first evening session yesterday, when Fernando Alonso completed only four laps and caused a red flag. Today, Alonso completed 49 laps in the sophisticated AMR26 with improving lap times. His best time was 1:20.795, placing him seventh. The team’s focus was clearly on data collection rather than outright speed, as Aston Martin had missed four of the five scheduled testing days. The data collected today will be analyzed at Silverstone to prepare for the first Bahrain test starting on February 11.
Cadillac continues to face a challenging debut. Valtteri Bottas completed 33 laps in the American team’s car, with the slowest time indicating the extensive work ahead for Graeme Lowdon’s team over the coming weeks. Considering how new the team structure is, this is understandable. Sergio Perez had previously noted that the team had issues everywhere: in the power unit, the electrical system, and the chassis. While problematic, he emphasized that it is better to encounter these issues now rather than during the season. From tomorrow, the focus will shift to addressing these challenges to smooth the path for Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1.
Charles Leclerc’s pace-setting morning in Barcelona provides a strong insight into Ferrari’s initial 2026 track program, validating both the speed and the reliability of the SF-26. While the hierarchy remains blurred by varying fuel loads and engine modes, the high mileage across the field—particularly from Haas and Ferrari—suggests that the grid is quickly coming to grips with the new technical regulations. This final day of Spanish testing serves as the ultimate data-gathering exercise, providing the engineers back at the factories with the critical information needed to refine their packages before the official pre-season tests in Bahrain.
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