On the third day of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona, Ferrari remains in the garage while the paddock waits for the debut of the McLaren MCL40. Follow the live coverage of the morning session, with updates, on-track action, and the latest news from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The third day of pre-season testing in Barcelona has come to a close, and the track action provided plenty of data and insights for the teams as they continue preparing for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Day 3 Top Times
- Antonelli: 1:17.382 (91 laps)
- Russell: 1:17.580 (92 laps)
- Norris: 1:18.725 (62 laps)
- Colapinto: 1:19.150 (56 laps)
- Bearman: 1:19.314 (42 laps)
- Lindblad: 1:19.420 (111 laps)
- Gasly: 1:20.413 (51 laps)
- Hulkenberg: 1:21.010 (60 laps)
Track Highlights
18:01 – Chequered flag! Day 3 of the Barcelona tests comes to an end as Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly return to the pits. Teams and fans will be ready for day 4 tomorrow morning, with more laps and data collection ahead.
17:57 – Final moments: Norris is running a qualifying simulation while Gasly continues with his long run. Only three minutes remain before the end of day 3.
05:33 PM – With just 30 minutes remaining in the day, Antonelli has reached 71 laps. Gasly currently sits at 39 laps completed.
05:30 PM – Meanwhile, here is the first official photo of Lando Norris on track featuring the number 1 on his car.
05:14 PM – Reports suggest that Aston Martin has finally landed in Girona to participate in the tests starting tomorrow, despite the recent delays. The Aston Martin will be officially presented tomorrow during a live event.
05:10 PM – After setting his personal best time, Norris continued his stint. The McLaren driver has now completed 40 laps for the day.
05:06 PM – Here are the best times for each driver throughout the entire day:
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ANT): 1:17.382
- George Russell (RUS): 1:17.580
- Lando Norris (NOR): 1:18.725
- Franco Colapinto (COL): 1:19.150
- Oliver Bearman (BEA): 1:19.314
- Arvid Lindblad (LIN): 1:19.420
- Pierre Gasly (GAS): 1:20.413
- Nico Hulkenberg (HUL): 1:21.010
04:57 PM – Norris has completed 13 laps, while Gasly stopped at 10. Antonelli, however, is still on track continuing his long run. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri is watching his teammate directly from the McLaren pit wall.
04:50 PM – Norris has put in an interesting stint. The world champion dropped below the 1:20 mark, even managing times in the low 1:18s. We still need to understand the fuel loads on his McLaren, which are certainly lower than those used by Antonelli.
04:43 PM – Meanwhile, James Vowles has announced that Williams has successfully passed its crash tests and will be regularly on track for the Bahrain tests.
04:39 PM – Antonelli is busy with a full race simulation. His long run reached 33 laps before he pitted for a quick stop and headed back out to continue simulating a full race distance.
04:34 PM – Norris has finally taken to the track. Following the lunch break, the reigning world champion returns to action. Only the Englishman is driving for the Woking squad today; he will almost certainly make way for Piastri tomorrow.
04:32 PM – After setting the fastest time of these tests on the soft tire, Antonelli is now running on the hard compound. The young Italian driver has clocked 31 laps so far during this afternoon session.
04:28 PM – Aston Martin’s journey to Barcelona was delayed due to last-minute modifications requested by Adrian Newey for several components of the AMR26.
04:23 PM – Pierre Gasly is continuing his long-run work, setting very consistent lap times. Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi is also maintaining a steady pace.
04:14 PM – A hydraulic failure for Hulkenberg. The German, behind the wheel of his Audi, has already returned to the track after fixing the issue in the garage.
04:11 PM – Lindblad, Antonelli, and Gasly have been on track for 20 minutes performing long runs. Antonelli is consistent in the 1:21s, Lindblad is alternating between 1:20s and 21s, and Gasly is following suit. It is currently not raining, and work is proceeding smoothly with higher fuel loads.
16:01 – Pierre Gasly, Kimi Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad have all returned to the track a few minutes ago. The focus now is on understanding the current track conditions after the recent rainfall, with teams closely monitoring grip levels and tyre performance.
15:46 – Rain has started to fall at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It remains to be seen how this sudden change in weather will affect the work programmes of the various teams over the final two hours of running. For the moment, all cars are stationary in the pit lane as engineers reassess their plans.
15:36 – Confirmation has now arrived from Ollie Bearman regarding the issue he experienced earlier this morning. The British driver confirmed that it was nothing serious, effectively ruling out any power unit-related problems with the Ferrari engine fitted to his Haas.
15:35 – After the issue encountered roughly an hour ago, Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls car has already returned to the track. There are no major concerns for the Red Bull junior driver, with the problem quickly resolved.
15:23 – Amos Laurito provides an update on lap times from this session. Kimi Antonelli’s 1:17.300 currently stands as the fastest lap of the day so far. Below is a recap of the afternoon running:
- Kimi Antonelli – 10 laps
- Nico Hulkenberg – 7 laps (best lap: 1:23.900)
- Ollie Bearman – 40 laps
- Lando Norris – 0 laps
- Pierre Gasly – 4 laps
15:22 – According to reports from several profiles on X, Aston Martin is currently flying to Barcelona and is expected to begin its on-track activity soon. The latest rumors suggest that Aston Martin could be one of the protagonists during Friday’s running.
15:19 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman and Pierre Gasly have all returned to the track following the red flag period. Audi, meanwhile, appears to be stationary in the garage at the moment, in what has been a day full of ups and downs for the German manufacturer.
15:11 – GREEN FLAG. After a twenty-minute pause, on-track activity resumes with weather conditions remaining clear and stable. However, rain later in the day cannot be completely ruled out.
15:10 – The Racing Bulls car driven by Arvid Lindblad has been recovered by the marshals and is now making its way back to the pit lane so the team can investigate what happened. It remains to be seen whether the young Red Bull talent will be able to return to the track later today.
15:01 – Footage of the red flag incident has now emerged. Audi had just returned to the circuit when Lindblad came to a halt at the exit of Turn 10. Misfortune once again complicates Nico Hulkenberg’s programme.
14:52 – Red flag with roughly one hour into the session. Lindblad is stopped at the exit of Turn 10, while the first images of Pierre Gasly at the wheel of the Alpine are also coming through.
14:49 – Meanwhile, SoyMotor has published a photo of Nico Hulkenberg returning to the track. The German driver completed only an installation lap following the issues encountered earlier this morning.
14:43 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Pierre Gasly are also on track at the moment. Ollie Bearman continues his work, resuming the programme that was temporarily interrupted earlier in the morning due to issues with some sensors on his Haas.
14:31 – A brief recap of the number of laps completed so far by the various power unit manufacturers:
- Mercedes: 390
- Ferrari: 340
- RBPT Ford: 334
- Audi: 32
14:25 – Nico Hulkenberg has also returned to the track, albeit only for a single installation lap. The German driver had stopped after just a few laps earlier this morning due to issues with the Audi power unit.
14:23 – Amos Laurito reports that Ollie Bearman has also returned to the track during this session. Once again, it is worth reiterating that the problems experienced by the British driver earlier today were not related to the Ferrari power unit, but rather to sensors fitted on the Haas car.
14:17 – Arvid Lindblad is currently the only driver on track. Weather conditions could soon change, with rain approaching the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló. It remains to be seen how much on-track activity we will witness this afternoon.
- George Russell: 1:17.580 (92 laps)
- Franco Colapinto: 1:19.150 (56 laps)
- Lando Norris: 1:19.672 (33 laps)
- Arvid Lindblad: 1:20.714 (61 laps)
- Oliver Bearman: 1:20.840 (21 laps)
- Nico Hulkenberg: No time set (5 laps)
01:00 PM – The first half of the session has come to a close. It was a morning punctuated by two red flags—one triggered by Audi and the other by Haas. The American squad did manage to return to the circuit in the final minutes before the lunch break. It has been an excellent morning for Mercedes and its customer teams, collectively racking up over 150 laps. We also caught our first glimpse of the new McLaren with reigning world champion Lando Norris behind the wheel. The lap times remain difficult to analyze, with conflicting reports suggesting that either George Russell or Franco Colapinto was the fastest man on track this morning.
12:55 PM – In the closing stages of the morning run, the McLaren of Lando Norris remains on track, accompanied by Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls.
12:36 PM – The Mercedes Power Unit has now surpassed the 140-lap mark for the morning, thanks largely to an extensive testing program carried out by George Russell. McLaren is also continuing its run-plan with Lando Norris.
12:26 PM – Fresh details are emerging regarding the situation at Williams. According to information gathered by the ScuderiaFans.com team, the Grove-based challenger has reportedly still not passed its mandatory FIA crash tests.
12:23 PM – Rumors continue to swirl regarding the technical setbacks faced by Haas earlier today. We have covered the full details of their suspected issues in this article.
12:15 PM – Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine, and Racing Bulls are all still out on circuit gathering data. There is still no sign of the Haas returning to the track just yet.
11:46 – The first timed lap of the day arrives courtesy of Lando Norris. The British driver posts a lap time of 1:24.635, according to SoyMotor.com.
11:40 – Mekies: “We can’t wait to get back on track, but we need to analyze our situation. Hopefully we’ll have more answers later.”
11:34 – A very positive morning for Mercedes-powered teams. Thanks to Amos Laurito, we know that the Brackley-built power unit has already completed more than 80 laps overall, courtesy of George Russell and Franco Colapinto (with Lando Norris also contributing, although he completed only a single installation lap).
11:32 – A few drops of rain are being carried by the wind at the Barcelona circuit. Proper rainfall could arrive between 13:30 and 15:00, but it should not significantly affect the teams’ planned programmes.
11:17 – It will be difficult to see Red Bull back on track before Friday. Following Isack Hadjar’s incident, team principal Laurent Mekies underlined the need to carefully analyze the damage before resuming running.
11:05 – For McLaren, it was only a quick installation lap. Work on the MCL40 is progressing smoothly, and the car should be back on track again soon. The Woking-based team is among the few that have not yet officially unveiled their new car: we will have to wait until February 9, when the official 2026 livery will be revealed.
10:59 – The first McLaren video of the day arrives, provided by SoyMotor. The car is running with a special livery designed exclusively for testing.
10:56 – Finally, McLaren is seen out on track, with confirmation once again coming from Amos Laurito. Lando Norris began his running with the MCL40 two hours after the start of the session.
10:55 – The session resumes in Barcelona, with several cars immediately heading out on track to make the most of the available time.
10:41 – The fastest time of the day so far belongs to Franco Colapinto, who set a 1:21.8. The highest lap count has been completed by George Russell with 27 laps, followed by Oliver Bearman with 15, before the red flag interruption.
10:28 – Attention: another red flag. Oliver Bearman is stopped at Turn 2 with his Haas. The cause is still unclear, whether it was a Ferrari power unit issue or a driver error.
10:19 – Mercedes does not want to waste any time. As soon as the green flag was shown, George Russell headed out onto the track. This could turn into another high-mileage day for the Brackley-based team.
10:13 – Even though Ferrari is not on track today, positive data is emerging for the Scuderia from Maranello. The Power Unit has completed several kilometres without any particular issues being detected. Let’s take a look at all the laps completed by the different engine manufacturers so far.
Red flag caused by Hülkenberg, reliability issues for Audi
10:08 – From Spain, SoyMotor has released photos of Nico Hülkenberg’s car being transported back to the garage after stopping on track between Turn 9 and Turn 10.
10:01 – Taking advantage of the red flag, here is a recap of the drivers currently on track this morning:
- Mercedes with George Russell
- Racing Bulls with Arvid Lindblad
- Alpine with Franco Colapinto
- Audi with Nico Hülkenberg
- Haas with Oliver Bearman
- McLaren with Lando Norris (has not yet completed any laps)
09:53 – As reported by Amos Laurito, Nico Hülkenberg has stopped on track, causing a red flag. This could be an early warning sign of difficulties for Audi, with the German driver having completed around seven laps.
09:46 – More and more teams are already focusing on specific aerodynamic aspects. Audi was seen on track running aerodynamic rakes in the rear section of the car.
09:41 – Meanwhile, McLaren reassures everyone that the MCL40 will take part in today’s session.
09:38 – The first images of Hülkenberg have arrived as he begins his work for Audi. The German manufacturer needs to complete as many laps as possible after the issues encountered on the opening day.
09:32 – Correction. Audi has taken to the track and is participating in today’s running, while Cadillac is expected to remain in the garage.
09:29 – Half an hour into the session, there are still no updates from McLaren, which has yet to begin its on-track activity during this test.
09:25 – Cadillac removes any doubts and confirms it will return to the track today after the problems experienced on Monday.
09:20 – The Mercedes driver and the Alpine driver are fitting the white compound tyres. Haas has been spotted on track running intermediate tyres.
09:18 – George Russell and Franco Colapinto have also taken to the track to begin today’s programme.
09:14 – It is still not certain whether Cadillac will take part in today’s running. The team encountered several issues during its first test session.
09:13 – Arvid Lindblad is already on track (source: SoyMotor), and his Racing Bulls car was fitted with pitot tubes.
09:05 – On track today will be Mercedes, Racing Bulls, McLaren, Haas, Alpine, and Cadillac.
09:01 – Mercedes also announces its programme for today. George Russell will drive the car in the morning before handing it over to Kimi Antonelli later in the day.
09:00 – Green light. The third day of collective Formula 1 testing gets underway at the Barcelona circuit.
08:57 – Haas confirms that British driver Oliver Bearman will be at the wheel of the car today.
08:55 – Weather update. Just a few minutes remain until the green flag for the third day of testing. Sunshine greets Barcelona this morning, and a high level of on-track action is expected.
08:42 – It is worth remembering that, out of the five available days, teams are allowed to use only three. McLaren has not yet taken to the track and is expected to do so today in order to make full use of the available hours. Below is a summary of the days used so far:
- Two days: Red Bull
- One day: Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, Alpine, Haas, Racing Bulls, Cadillac
- Zero days: McLaren and Aston Martin (Williams will not be present)
08:41 – Haas wishes everyone a good morning and confirms it will be on track on day three of the Barcelona tests.
08:30 – Initial aerodynamic tests were carried out yesterday by Ferrari and Red Bull. The Scuderia was seen on track using flow-vis paint on the rear wing. The Austrian team, meanwhile, ran aerodynamic rakes positioned behind the front wheels. Later on, flow-vis paint was also observed on the front wing. Two different approaches, but with the same objective: analysing airflow behaviour in specific areas of the car.
08:23 – Ferrari collected important data, particularly in terms of reliability. Taking into account the laps completed by Haas and Cadillac as well, the Scuderia has not encountered any Power Unit issues. The main focus of these tests has been the engine side and understanding the car, with the work programme centred primarily on these aspects.
07:45 – A brief recap of the testing so far. Yesterday, only Ferrari and Red Bull were on track. No significant reliability problems were reported for either team. The only negative note for the Milton Keynes squad was Isack Hadjar’s off-track excursion in the afternoon session, with the French driver making contact with the barriers. On Monday, Mercedes and Haas also ran without any issues. It was a different story for Audi and Cadillac, which faced their first difficulties, as is often the case with new projects. Minor issues were reported for Alpine and Racing Bulls, both of which managed to complete their programmes with only limited interruptions.
07:44 – The third day of Formula 1 testing in Barcelona is about to get underway. Live coverage with real-time updates will follow. Today Ferrari pauses to analyse the data gathered yesterday, while McLaren will finally complete its first laps after delaying its programme due to the rain that fell on day two.
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