The second day of the F1 pre-season test in Barcelona took place on Tuesday, January 27, as teams began their preparations for the 2026 season. This five-day test in the Spanish city has been organized by the teams themselves and features no media or coverage teams on the track. However, information regarding the teams and their runnings has slowly been making its way to social media.
The test is being held at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit over five days, beginning on January 26 and concluding on January 30. Each team is allowed to run a total of three days out of the five. This event will be an important outing for the F1 teams ahead of a new regulations era.
So let’s take a detailed look at everything that happened on the second day of testing in Barcelona.
Everything That Happened on Day 2 of the F1 Pre-Season Test at Barcelona
Teams and drivers on track
Only two teams participated in the test on Tuesday.
- Red Bull Racing: Max Verstappen arrived on the track with his RB22 for the very first time in 2026, setting the early pace. Isack Hadjar also jumped into the car later in the day to make it two consecutive days that he has run in Barcelona.
- Scuderia Ferrari: Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took to the track on Day 2 in Barcelona, giving Ferrari some much-needed running ahead of the 2026 season.
Teams absent
- Mercedes: The Silver Arrows decided to sit out on Day 2 due to the wet conditions that offered limited opportunities to collect useful data.
- Haas: Similar to Mercedes, the Haas F1 team also chose not to run on Tuesday, even though they were on the track and had plans to run originally. This was also down to the weather.
- Aston Martin: The Aston Martin F1 Team had delays to their AMR26 and revealed that they will not be able to run on the first three days of the test. This will leave them with only two days to try their new challenger out in Barcelona.
- Williams: Williams is not taking part in the Barcelona test, as announced by them before the test began.
- All other teams, including defending constructors’ champions McLaren, are planning to run on the remaining three days of the test.
Track conditions
As previously mentioned, Day 2 of testing at Barcelona was heavily affected by rain. This meant that the teams were only able to collect limited data, while many chose not to run.
Red Flags and Incidents
- The Race reported that Max Verstappen brought out a red flag early on Day 2, as he ran wide on turn 5, causing a small delay in the session. The Dutchman was able to continue without too many issues.
- His teammate, Isack Hadjar, brought out a red flag later in the day after the French-Algerian driver crashed on track, according to reports from around the track (Crash.net).
Lap times
- Max Verstappen topped the timing charts, thanks to his early running in dry conditions on Tuesday. The 28-year-old set a best time of 1:19.580. [via RacingNews365].
- Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second on the list on Tuesday with a personal best time of 1:20.864.
- Isack Hadjar set a best time of 1:31.891, thanks to the rain-affected session later in the day. Similarly, Lewis Hamilton was fourth and last with a time of 1:32.872.
Now, three days remain, with several teams yet to show their hand in 2026. Following this test, the teams will get the opportunity to test their cars on two more occasions. The first official F1 pre-season test will be held in Bahrain from February 11-13, followed by the final test ahead of the new season from February 18-20.
The 2026 F1 season will officially kick off with the Australian Grand Prix, commencing on March 6. The first race day of the season is scheduled for March 8.
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