SECOND DAY OF F1 TESTING AT BARCELONA: HADJAR CRASHES
The second day of Formula 1 2026 pre-season testing took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya under difficult weather conditions, with rain playing a big role and limiting running for many teams.
Before the session began, it was reported that Racing Bulls, Mercedes, Alpine, Cadillac and Audi would not take part due to the rain forecast. Red Bull was expected to run with Max Verstappen, and Ferrari confirmed they would be on track.
At 09:00, the second day officially started, and Ferrari were the first team to send a car out. Charles Leclerc drove the new SF-26 on medium tyres. Shortly after, Max Verstappen also appeared in the Red Bull RB22.
However, the action was quickly stopped by the first red flag of the day, sending both drivers back to the garages. Once running resumed, Leclerc completed an 11-lap stint, setting a best time of 1:20.8 before returning to the pits and later going back out again.
By mid-morning, Verstappen went fastest with a 1:20.0, just ahead of Leclerc. But dark clouds soon arrived, and rain began to fall lightly at first, then much heavier.
As the track became wet, most teams returned to the garages. Red Bull prepared for the conditions by bringing intermediate and full wet tyres.
Leclerc later returned to the circuit using full wet tyres, completing a few laps in heavy rain. His first times were slow, around 1:46.0, but as the rain eased and spray reduced, he improved to 1:37.5.
Around midday, Verstappen went back out briefly, while Leclerc continued adding laps, passing 45 laps in total.
After lunch, Charles Leclerc handed the Ferrari over to Lewis Hamilton, who went out using extreme wet tyres before returning to the garage. Red Bull also changed drivers, with Isack Hadjar taking over the RB22 in the afternoon.
Rain returned again, making it hard for teams to use dry tyres. Running was limited, and both Hamilton and Hadjar completed only small numbers of laps at first.
After nearly two hours of afternoon testing, Hadjar had completed 22 laps with a best time of 1:31.981, while Hamilton had done 20 laps with a best of 1:33.455.
Later on, Hadjar increased his total to over 40 laps, while Hamilton reached around 38. Lap times did not improve much as the track stayed wet.
With less than an hour remaining, Hadjar completed a 15-lap long run, finishing with a best lap of 1:36.1. By that point, he had driven 45 laps in the afternoon session, just one more than Hamilton.
Then, at 17:25, the day ended dramatically with a red flag after Isack Hadjar crashed at Turn 14. The driver lost the rear and did not impact heavily.
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