F1 Barcelona pre-season testing live commentary and updates - day 2
F1 2026 starts here! Follow along for updates as they unfold from Barcelona
Live Text
Hello and welcome to day two of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona!
As you may know, the Barcelona test is taking place behind closed doors, which means we don't know as much as we normally would.
But what we do know, you will too!
Buuut. This afternoon has the highest chance of rain this week.
Teams are therefore reconsidering their plans in order not to waste a test day on a washed-out track.
So Mercedes is not running today. Neither is Haas – but that was the plan all along. Alpine is unlikely to take to the track.
We'll keep you updated as we find out about their competitors.
Ferrari took to the track shortly after the session started some 20 minutes ago. The red flag was waved a few minutes ago but we're not sure what happened yet.
If you have any questions, feel free to send them our way in the comments section of the live text; we'll do our best to answer them!
McLaren is yet to make a decision on whether it'll run today, due to the inclement weather expected in the afternoon.
If the papaya car – whose testing livery doesn't actually feature much papaya – stays in the garage, it'll presumably be in action from Wednesday to Friday.
As far as we know, Ferrari and Red Bull are the only two cars that have been on track already. We're waiting to hear from Racing Bulls and Cadillac, but it's unlikely anyone else will join.
Spanish outlet SoyMotor is on site and reports that Charles Leclerc has done an 11-lap run with the SF-26 with a fastest time of 1m20.8s.
Yesterday, Isack Hadjar was reported to be fastest with a 1m18.159s. His team-mate Max Verstappen took the RB22 over today.
The temperature is 9C, which is not too bad for a January morning.
mandar2311 is asking: "Are they not supposed to run 3 consecutive days? So if any of the teams skip today's running which started test yesterday, will they be allowed 2 more days still?"
Teams are allowed to run on any three days they like, regardless of being consecutive – hence why the teams that ran yesterday can afford to skip today, and that's what all but Red Bull are doing.
Another question from Bandini Fan regarding active aerodynamics. "Can the flaps be activated at any time around the track or only in designated (straights) parts like the old DRS?"
The flaps can be activated only in designated parts of the track, but there will be more than the couple of DRS zones each circuit had.
ApexAttack#2047757c is wondering: "Is there a limit to how many laps a driver can run? Also, is it only full time drivers or are reserve drivers allowed to run laps as well?"
Teams can run as many laps as they want between 9am and 6pm local time, but they can only run one car.
They're allowed to run reserve drivers, but it obviously is crucial for full-season racers to gather as much experience as possible in the context of new technical regulations, so we're unlikely to see anyone else in action.
Red Bull reports it's now raining at the track!
There go our chances of seeing anyone other than Red Bull and Ferrari in action today.
o.gombola is requesting pictures of Red Bull's sidepods. We aren't allowed to have any photographers on site, so here's the best we can offer right now.
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull
Photo by: Formula 1
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
"Has there been any evidence of cars de-rating halfway down the straights or drivers having to downshift as feared?" iain.coulson asks.
That's an excellent question. But we weren't allowed to send any reporters to the test, so we can't really say.
Some quotes did emerge after the first day of testing, but they were the product of press releases and/or basic video interviews, so no chance to ask more detailed questions yet.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin has announced that Stoffel Vandoorne will remain its "simulator, test and reserve driver" (all that's missing for a terminology grand slam is 'development').
Jak Crawford, ambiguously, will be the team's third driver. So which driver, reserve or third, will be called upon if Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll is unwell?
A little track action, just for you. Yes, you.
Red Bull and Ferrari both selected four sets of intermediates and two sets of full-wet tyres for their three days of testing, so they have plenty to run today despite the rain.
McLaren news:
...no news. We understand they're still considering whether running today is the best decision or they should wait until tomorrow.
SoyMotor reports that Leclerc is on track with full-wet tyres.
Verstappen has also taken to the wet track.
Bar-Tech has inquired: "I noticed some blinking lights on mirrors of Caddie, will this be standard of all F1 cars or is it only this Team using those?"
As our colleague Jake Boxall-Legge confirms, these are standard safety lights according to the new regulations.
If you have just one memory of F1 at Barcelona, what would it be?
Personally, I'd pick the Hamilton/Rosberg collision in 2016 as the most striking event at the Catalan track. There was obviously a bit of a rivalry between the Mercedes drivers as they were the only two title contenders, and it also paved the way for Max Verstappen to become the youngest grand prix winner in history.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W07 Hybrid and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1 W07 Hybrid collide on the opening lap
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
I remember being in the media centre at European F3's late Pau Grand Prix (a remarkable street circuit which is very much missed), everyone was keeping an eye on F1 and the whole room gasped.
What's yours? Tell us in the comments section!
Corneliufm is asking whether the track is dry, based on Ferrari's tweet below.
Those pictures were taken when it indeed was dry early this morning, but it started raining around 10:40am local time.
Both Leclerc and Verstappen have been in action since then.
SoyMotor reports that Leclerc and Verstappen have covered 45 and 24 laps, respectively, thus far today.
Regarding Vandoorne being Aston Martin's reserve driver while Crawford is the squad's third driver, a team spokesperson has clarified that the American is "next in line" as a stand-in and will attend nearly all grands prix this year.
Guitarlukeomg is wondering about the pecking order so far.
Unfortunately, it's way, way too early for any sort of performance analysis. McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams are yet to run. And the other eight cars have mostly been checking if everything works as intended.
According to unofficial timing, Isack Hadjar set the fastest lap of the week so far on Monday in Red Bull's RB22, but you really shouldn't draw any conclusions from this.
Corneliufm asks: "Random websites mention a red flag caused by Max going off track. Is it true?"
There indeed was a red flag this morning, and we're aware of speculation that Max Verstappen caused it by running wide into the gravel, but we have not been able to verify this information yet.
This doesn't mean it's untrue, simply we can't confirm it is true.
Here's that picture Ferrari tweeted earlier, in greater detail.
One can see that the rear wing is open as Leclerc makes his way down the main straight.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Ferrari
By: Autosport Staff
