F1 Barcelona test day 1: Isack Hadjar fastest, Russell close behind

Isack Hadjar ended the first day of the 2026 Formula 1 shakedown in Barcelona on top, ahead of George Russell in the Mercedes W17 and Franco Colapinto in the Alpine A526. Haas completed plenty of laps, while Audi encountered technical issues.

The first day of closed-door shakedown testing went well, with nearly all teams on track completing multiple laps and avoiding reliability scares reminiscent of 2014. At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the track steadily improved as the day progressed, and seven of the eleven teams used the first of their three allocated test days to start preparing for the 2026 season.

It is important to note that lap times from today do not reflect the true performance of the cars, but they provide one of the few glimpses into the early testing session. Thanks to the work of colleagues at SoyMotor, we can compile a provisional day one ranking, with the Red Bull RB22 topping the list.

Hadjar set the fastest time with a 1’18″159 lap, 6.8 seconds slower than Lando Norris’s 2024 Barcelona qualifying record of 1’11″383. More importantly, the Red Bull-Ford power units proved capable of completing multiple laps in both the RB22 and the Racing Bulls driven by Liam Lawson, who finished sixth, 3.4 seconds behind Hadjar.

Just over half a second behind Hadjar was George Russell in the Mercedes W17. George Russell, who took over from Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the afternoon, closed the day strongly. Antonelli had completed 56 laps in the morning, finishing fourth overall. Combined with George Russell’s 95 laps, Mercedes completed a total of 151 laps—almost 700 km—making them one of the busiest teams on track.

Long runs, rather than outright lap times, were the key takeaway. Kimi Antonelli consistently ran laps between 1’20” low and 1’21” high, showing promising consistency. George Russell mirrored this approach in the afternoon, maintaining a steady pace throughout.

The top four times included three Mercedes-powered cars: Russell and Antonelli’s W17s, plus Franco Colapinto’s Alpine A526. The Argentine driver, who has also focused on mental preparation during the off-season, posted the third fastest time, half a second behind Russell, completing 70 laps throughout the day.

The first Ferrari-powered car on track was the Haas VF-26. Esteban Ocon completed 67 laps in the morning, posting the fifth fastest time. Combined with 33 laps from Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, Ferrari-powered cars covered around 100 laps in the first four hours, a figure likely to approach 150 laps thanks to Haas activity in the afternoon.

Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls VCARB03 finished sixth, featuring a new dual mini-profile on the nose observed this morning. Bottas posted the seventh fastest time in the Cadillac before handing over to Perez, who closed the day’s timing sheet. Audi struggled, suffering a morning issue that led to one of three red flags after stopping in turn 11. The R26 was returned to the garage, and the team expects to be back on track in the coming days.

The other two red flags were caused by Colapinto’s Alpine A526 spinning and Lawson’s Racing Bulls stopping on track just before the lunch break.

Shakedown F1 – Day 1 final standings