BARCELONA TEST – George Russell or Isack Hadjar reportedly fastest on the opening day of private testing
George Russell was reportedly fastest on the first day of the first pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, the Mercedes driver set a 18.696, which put him just under two tenths faster than Isack Hadjar. Mercedes goes into 2026 predicted as favourites given the radical overhaul of the regulations.
Other reports have put Hadjar ahead of Russell, who drove the afternoon session, if this account is correct Hadjar was almost a quarter of a second faster. But sources told ESPN that Mercedes looked quick, as was expected under the new engine regulations.
However, reporting of this test has been heavily restricted as it’s a private test organised by the teams with no media access or TV coverage, so we are reliant on teams giving us the information. But it was an opportunity to get to know the cars ahead of the two official tests in a fortnight in Sakhir.
F1 went to great lengths to maintain the secrecy of the first test, security guards strictly enforced the rules outside the circuit, while live timing information which briefly leaked out from the circuit, was shut down during the first day.
Teams are in charge of what information they reveal about their own running, with many reluctant to release lap times without the context of their day in full, making sense of an early competitive order difficult.
Seven of the eleven teams ran on day one; teams are restricted to three days of running over the five days.
New teams Audi, who have completed their takeover of Sauber and are competing with their own engine this season, and Cadillac, who become the sport’s eleventh team this year, were also on track. Valtteri Bottas took the Cadillac on track for the first time in an all-black testing livery the team is set to unveil its 2026 colours in an advert during the Super Bowl.
In the media briefing released by F1, Bottas said, “Priority list now is get more laps each day, think I got a bit more than 30 laps today, some of them just installs and stuff, but we need to get some proper running in, get the mileage in, and make sure we get a reliable package for race one.”
Reigning world champions McLaren and Ferrari have already confirmed they will start their respective programmes on Tuesday.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted to encountering several issues on day one, but took pride in his new car’s consistent running. He told F1TV, “In terms of mileage we managed to do this morning, it was really good. Behind the scenes, it’s a huge, huge amount of work. I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. But to even make the shakedown and then do the mileage on the shakedown was a huge task.”
Esteban Ocon was at the wheel in the morning and expressed satisfaction with the running so far, as well as with the total nine days of testing to get to grips with the new machinery – three at Barcelona and six in Bahrain.
Aston Martin is set to miss one of its three days due to production delays, d a statement on Monday saying it intends to be on track on Thursday and Friday, raising questions about its own readiness levels for the new year. They have invested heavily in this current regulation cycle in a bid to become world champions.
Williams has already confirmed it will skip the test altogether after hitting delays with the build of its new car.
This report was shorter due to another commitment on Monday evening
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