Day 1 lap times revealed in Barcelona
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The F1 teams are testing their 2026 cars at the Barcelona track this week. But why is the action not open to the public?
Ten new cars, five days, no fans. And plenty of security. Formula 1 started a new era with the public and the media excluded from the teams' reliability-focused private testing session in Spain on Monday.
We are discovering issues, problems we need to solve, every lap, every run,” team boss Ayao Komatsu admits, but “at least we are running”
Red Bull and McLaren have their 2026 Formula 1 cars as the first day of preseason testing gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.
SPORTbible has contacted Formula 1 for comment. It has since been clarified that the lap times are handled by the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and released upon agreeing with the teams involved. F1 did not cut live feeds as they did not organise the private tests in Spain.
Isack Hadjar topped the timesheet for Red Bull at the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona; Mercedes George Russell was impressed by Red Bulls display; watch F1 2026: Barcelona Shakedown with
Formula One has been criticised for its heavy-handed security on day one of pre-season testing in Barcelona, with fans labelling the decision to hold the first test in such secrecy a “bad look” for the sport.
The Audi F1 team has confirmed that Gabriel Bortoleto suffered a "technical issue" with the R26 car on Day 1 of F1 2026 pre-season testing.