Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen completed the first lap of the Barcelona shakedown before Isaac Hajar crashed his Red Bull on a rain-affected second day.
F1 teams can choose to run three out of five days in closed-door testing at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, so Ferrari and Red Bull were the only teams to choose to take part on a rainy Tuesday.
The somewhat surprising decision to include Red Bull, who had already achieved a good result on Monday, backfired, with Hajar crashing at Turn 14 in the final hours of the day, damaging his RB22’s rear wing and suspension.
The dangerousness of the conditions was further emphasized as Hamilton encountered gravel on his first run of the event, but the seven-time world champion avoided causing any serious damage to his Ferrari.
Red Bull confirmed in a short statement on social media on Tuesday night that Hajjar was not injured.
“This is a recap of day two of shakedown, with Max and Isaac completing 78 laps in the RB22,” the post said. “Isaac’s afternoon was cut short when he found the barrier in turn 14. He got out of the car right away so it’s okay.”
Ferrari ran for the first time, sticking to its plans announced last week not to take part on Monday, but seven of the 10 teams taking part in the event took advantage of the mostly dry conditions.
Ferrari had already run the SF-26 at its Fiorano test track on Friday, but Charles Leclerc was the first to go out on Tuesday, initially in dry conditions, giving him the chance to drive.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Lewis Hamilton reflected on the challenging first run of his new 2026 Ferrari on the second day of the Barcelona shakedown.
Leclerc was immediately joined on the circuit by Verstappen in the RB22, but the Dutchman did not compete on Monday, when Hajar drove the whole day.
The other teams that ran on the first day – Mercedes, Racing Bulls, Haas, Audi, Alpine and Cadillac – all sat out on Tuesday, while world champion McLaren further delayed the start of testing until Wednesday. Williams will miss the entire event, while Aston Martin hopes to be ready for Thursday’s run.
Leclerc and Verstappen ran on slick tires very early on, before the first rain started midway through the morning session, necessitating changes to wet tyres, giving the pair their first chance to test out F1’s all-new 2026 model in the rain.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Charles Leclerc reflected on his 2026 Ferrari after taking to the Barcelona track on the second day of shakedown.
Leclerc completed 66 laps in the morning, Verstappen 26, before being replaced by his respective teammates Hamilton and Hajjar after the lunch break.
Hamilton completed 57 laps in the Ferrari in the afternoon, while Hajjar managed 52 laps in the Red Bull before crashing.
Times from the closed-door test have not been officially released, but Verstappen is understood to have set an early dry tire pace of 1:19.578, 1.5 seconds slower than Hajar’s fastest final pace on Monday.
However, lap times will be virtually irrelevant throughout the week as the grid focuses on reliability and systems checks on the latest cars following what is said to be the biggest technical rule change in the history of the sport.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports F1’s Bernie Collins and Craig Slater give their thoughts on why Aston Martin has been late arriving on track for F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona.
‘Challenging but productive’ – Hamilton’s verdict
Hamilton, who is looking to bounce back from a very disappointing first season with Ferrari, said it was a “really productive” day for the Italian team.
“Today was very challenging because obviously it started raining at 10:30 a.m.,” Hamilton said. “Charles had a bit of a dry run, but it was wet all afternoon.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Speaking on the F1 podcast, Karun Chandhok feels Lewis Hamilton’s lack of rapport with his soon-to-be race engineer is alarming as pre-season testing begins.
“Once we figured out how to make the tires work, we were really productive. Considering the wet red flag, I think we did 120 laps, which I think is pretty solid.”
“So I’m really proud of everyone back at the factory for getting the car to this point. We got a lot of information about the car today and we definitely need to maintain that. There’s a lot of work to do, but it was a good first day.”
Leclerc, whose best time was just over a second slower than Verstappen’s top time, said Ferrari could be satisfied that its challenger performed as expected.
“Right now it’s all about trying to understand if everything is working properly, and it is,” he said.
“It was a bit rainy this morning so conditions weren’t the best, but we actually ran the program anyway because we’re not focused on performance at all.
“We’re focused on looking at all the new systems we put in this car to make sure everything works properly. It did, so that’s a positive.”
Sky Sports F1 lets you watch all 24 race weekends of the 2026 F1 season live. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
