Izak Hajar admitted he was surprised by Red Bull’s “productive” and “smooth” performance after topping the timesheets on the first day of F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Lap times were not thought to be too important when the teams ran their all-new 2026 cars together for the first time, following changes to both power unit and chassis regulations, but there were questions about how Red Bull would fare as they embarked on their first campaign producing their own engines.
Hajjar, who was promoted to drive alongside Max Verstappen after a strong rookie campaign with Racing Bulls, ended the day with a time of 1 minute 18.159 seconds, just over half a second ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
Equally, if not more impressive, as Hajjar’s top time was the 107 laps the Frenchman was able to rack up, with Liam Lawson adding a further 88 laps for Racing Bulls, the only team on the grid using Red Bull’s first F1 power unit.
“Surprisingly, I was quite productive. I was able to complete a lot more laps than I expected,” Hajar said.
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Isaac Hajar praises the Red Bull driver’s productive day in Barcelona as he topped the timesheets on the first day of shakedown
“Everything went pretty smoothly. We only had minor issues, so that’s pretty impressive considering it’s our first day with our own engine. It was definitely smooth.”
When asked specifically about the performance of the power unit, Hajar added: “Honestly, it’s pretty decent for a first day.
“At least in the first season, the upshifts and downshifts didn’t feel too far from what I’m used to. That was fine. There are still some things to adjust, but it’s stable.”
Barcelona pre-season test – first day timesheet
Russell impressed by Red Bull
Mercedes continued their strong start on Monday with Kimi Antonelli and Russell completing a combined 149 laps, but the Brit admitted he was impressed with Red Bull’s performance.
Mercedes completed an eerie total of 67 laps on last week’s photo day at Silverstone, suggesting they are very well prepared for a season in which they are considered by many to be favorites, and they maintained that solidity despite being edged out by Red Bull in Barcelona.
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George Russell was impressed with the level of car the team brought to the Barcelona circuit
Russell, who took over Monday afternoon’s session from Antonelli, said: “I’m very happy with the day, but to be honest I was pretty impressed with a lot of the other teams.”
“With a team with the power of Red Bull, a brand new power unit and a brand new team from the power unit side as well, we had a really smooth day with both cars. Audi also did some good laps there. Haas did the most laps of any team with a Ferrari engine.”
Russell seems to suggest that a repeat of when modern engines were last introduced in 2014 is unlikely. Mercedes then won their eighth consecutive constructors’ title, with a huge lead in the first test event of the era.
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After the first day of shakedown in Barcelona, Kimi Antonelli, Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas share their first impressions of the new 2026 car
He added: “It’s a completely different atmosphere from 2014, where half the grid was destroyed and we had a lot of problems. I think F1 has evolved a lot since then and the standard is very high in all aspects.”
“It was very impressive to see all the teams completing so many laps overall on the first day.”
Antonelli: Mercedes is so much fun to drive
Antonelli gave a positive review of the Mercedes W17 as he prepares for his second season with the team.
“It was a very interesting morning. It was great to be back in the car,” Antonelli said.
“This is a big learning. We’ve been trying to tune the power unit and the car and obviously this afternoon the car has improved a lot and it’s a continuous learning.”
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After the first day’s shakedown in Barcelona, Antonelli shares his thoughts on the new Mercedes package
“The car is great. Very good to drive. Obviously in terms of the power unit, it’s a little different to last year’s one. It needs a little more management, but everything is doable.”
“In terms of the power unit, the team has done a really good job and the driveability, which was a big question mark, seems to be good so far.
“Obviously it’s still early days, so we’ll discover more about the car and the power unit through the running and see where we’re lacking and where we’re really good, but so far the package feels good.”
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