Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Follow live F1 action from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the first glimpse of the 2026 cars on the racetrack
Removed from bookmarks
I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
The 2026 Formula 1 season is upon us and with just six weeks until the first race in Australia, the teams are now preparing for a campaign of unknowns.
New regulations this season mean it is a clean slate for all 11 teams, with Cadillac the first new team on the grid since Haas in 2016. Audi have also taken over Sauber, with Ford partnering with Red Bull to build their own engines.
McLaren won both world championships last year, with Lando Norris claiming his first drivers’ title. Yet this season, Mercedes are rumoured to be the frontrunners, though we won’t know anything until we see the cars out on track.
This week’s test behind-closed-doors in Barcelona is the first of three pre-season sessions for the teams, with official tests in Bahrain next month (11-13 February and 18-20 February). However, Williams won’t be present this week due to delays to their car.
Follow live updates from F1 pre-season testing with The Independent.
Williams have withdrawn from the private F1 pre-season test in Barcelona following “delays” to their car development programme.
James Vowles’s outfit, who boast an impressive driver pairing in Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, have long targeted 2026 and this new set of regulations as a year to work their way up the pecking order.
Yet following reports that the team’s 2026 car, the FW48, had failed the FIA’s mandatory crash tests, the team confirmed on Friday that they will not be present at the shakedown event for all 11 teams.
Teams do have wet-weather tyres to test from Pirelli on-site this week, so a bit of rain doens’t completely mean no action on track.
Light rain is currently around the circuit.
Main thing of note so far this morning was Max Verstappen had a small moment at turn 5, kicking up some gravel on track, which triggered a brief red flag.
By Kieran Jackson
Twelve months into his multi-year Ferrari contract, Lewis Hamilton’s re-emergence into the public domain on Friday did not carry the weight of giddiness and expectation of a year ago. In hindsight, perhaps the delirium of his debut season was a bit too much for all involved.
Yet 2026 is an open book – new regulations and potentially a new pecking order – and the first season in which Hamilton can fully stamp his imprint on a new-look car. Whether or not the boffins in Maranello have heeded the knowledge and experience of Hamilton’s 19 years in Formula 1, however, is another matter altogether.
Full piece below:
We were expecting to see the world champions on track for the first time today.
However, light rain is falling now in Barcelona and the papaya outfit’s participation today is now in doubt.
Let’s see if they opt to run today…
While Williams won’t be present in Barcelona this week, there was question marks surrounding Aston Martin’s involvement.
However, Aston’s car – the first designed by Adrian Newey – will be shipped to Barcelona on Tuesday, with the team targeting action on track on Thursday and Friday, provided they pass FIA checks tomorrow.
Just the two drivers out on track, but they’re big names.
Verstappen sets a new fastest time of the day, in the region of 1:20 dead, beating Leclerc’s best time by eight-tenths of a second. Again, more mileage for this Red Bull-Ford engine…
One hour gone and we’re hearing that Charles Leclerc is Ferrari’s driver this morning and has completed 11 laps so far.
His fastest time is reported to be a 1:20:800 – a few seconds down on the best times from yesterday.
While overcast, it is still dry in Barcelona for the time being.
The four-time world champion gets his first taste of the new Red Bull-Ford engine this morning.
His teammate Isack Hadjar went fastest yesterday – what can the Dutchman do today?
The following teams have already confirmed they will not feature today:
-Mercedes
-Audi
-Racing Buls
-Alpine
-Cadillac
-Haas
A reminder that teams can only run for three out of the five available days this week.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

source