F1 2026: Isack Hadjar crash set to delay Red Bull testing plans

Isack Hadjar driving the Oracle Red Bull Racing RB22 on track during day one of F1 Shakedown at Circuit de Catalunya. Photo / Getty Images

A crash by new Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar looks set to sideline the team’s pre-season testing plans while also denying teammate Max Verstappen valuable time in the new car.

A rainy second day of private testing in Barcelona overnight saw only Red Bull and Ferrari braving the wet conditions.

Hadjar, who had set the fastest time on the first day of testing, was involved in an incident at the end of the day, finding the barrier at Turn 14 and damaging the rear of his car.

With only one car between the two drivers for testing, it means Verstappen misses out on driving time over the next few days.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said they will try their best to fix the car this week with just three more days of testing in Barcelona.

“It was very tricky conditions this afternoon,” Mekies said.

“[It was] very unfortunate to finish that way, but it’s part of the game.

”[We have] a lot of work to do on many aspects, these sort of things can happen. The difficulties today came after a very positive day yesterday, in terms of the number of laps Isack could complete in the car, and in terms of his learning, development and feedback to the engineers.

“It’s early days, but great energy in the team. We just can’t wait for the next possibility to run. But, like I said, it is something we’re trying to analyse.”

Hadjar’s accident continues a recent trend of drivers struggling during Red Bull’s pre-season testing.

In 2025, New Zealand’s Liam Lawson spun out in Bahrain in Red Bull’s troublesome RB21. He was demoted just two races into the season, and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda.

Ten of the 11 Formula One teams will be testing in Barcelona this week, but are restricted to driving on only three of the five available days.

Williams will not be present, after what the team described as a setback with its new car, following the 2026 regulations.

Racing Bulls driver Lawson didn’t take to the track after a long day yesterday.

Ferrari did for the first time this week with Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc, who racked up 64 laps in the morning despite the rain, before handing over the wheel to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who put in a sturdy 57-lap stint.

“For now, it’s all about trying to understand if everything is working properly, which it kind of did,” Leclerc said.

“It’s not the best conditions because it has been a little bit raining this morning but actually we did our programme anyway because we are not focused on performance whatsoever.”

Four-time Dutch world champion Verstappen set the fastest time of the day in dry conditions, more than a second ahead of Leclerc.

McLaren, the two-time defending constructors’ champions, preferred to fine-tune their settings and confirmed that their car would take to the track tomorrow and is also expected to run on Friday and Saturday (NZT).

Aston Martin announced yesterday that they would not be running until Friday, losing one of their three authorised days of testing, while Williams decided not to take part in this session in Spain due to delays in the development of their car.

Yesterday, seven of the 11 Formula One teams took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the first day of private testing, held behind closed doors without spectators or journalists - they were Alpine, Audi, the new American team Cadillac, Haas, Mercedes, Racing Bulls and Red Bull.

With the upheaval in technical regulations set to take effect for the upcoming season, teams are focusing this week on the reliability of their cars rather than performance.

- With AFP