2026 F1 Barcelona Pre-Season Test – Day 1 Morning Results

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Isack Hadjar topped the timesheets at the end of the first morning session of Formula 1’s 2026 pre-season test in Barcelona, setting the early pace as teams began evaluating their all-new cars.

The Red Bull Racing driver recorded a best lap of 1:18.835, opening up a margin of more than one-and-a-half seconds over the rest of the field. As is typical at this stage of pre-season testing, outright lap times are secondary, with teams prioritising system checks, baseline set-ups, and data correlation under the new technical regulations.

The opening morning was interrupted by two red flags. Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto both stopped on track due to separate technical issues, briefly halting running as their cars were recovered.

The session also marked a notable milestone, with Cadillac making its on-track debut in official Formula 1 testing. Valtteri Bottas completed Cadillac’s first representative laps at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, beginning the team’s data-gathering phase.

Day 1 Morning Classification – F1 2026 Barcelona Test

Table optimised for mobile viewing.

Mileage varied significantly across the field, reflecting different test priorities. Mercedes and Haas logged relatively high lap counts, suggesting a focus on reliability and system validation, while others experienced interruptions or ran more targeted programmes.

Hadjar’s early benchmark should not be read as an indication of competitive order, but it does point to a clean and productive start for Red Bull on the opening morning. Attention will now turn to the afternoon session and subsequent days, when teams are expected to broaden their run plans and begin exploring a wider range of set-up and operational parameters.

The Barcelona test marks the foundation phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season. With limited running available before the opening race, the quality of data gathered here will play a decisive role ahead of the more representative tests in Bahrain.