Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Hadjar tops the timesheets in Barcelona as Audi hit morning trouble

13:01, 26 Jan

Updated: 13:05, 26 Jan

byTobia Elia

Isack Hadjar topped the timesheets in the RB22 during the morning session on the opening day of testing in Barcelona.

The Frenchman topped the timesheets with a 1:18.835 on a Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that was still damp following overnight rain, leaving conditions fairly tricky at least until midway through the session.

He was followed by Kimi Antonelli in the W17, who lapped almost two seconds slower but proved to be one of the most active drivers on track in terms of mileage.

Third place went to Hadjar’s former team-mate Liam Lawson, who was displaced by Antonelli’s Mercedes in the final hour of the session.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

Two red flags were seen during the morning, the first caused by Franco Colapinto and shortly followed by Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi, which came to a halt on track. Esteban Ocon was the busiest driver of the day, completing as many as 66 laps at the wheel of the VF-26.

In total, seven teams ran during the morning session, with Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin having already opted to skip the opening day, while Williams are set to miss the entire week.

Barcelona testing Day 1: full morning results

Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	1:18.835	—	44
Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:20.700	+1.865	55
Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:21.348	+2.513	26
Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:21.864	+3.029	41
Esteban Ocon	Haas	1:24.520	+5.685	66
Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:24.651	+5.816	33
Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:25.296	+6.461	27

Audi hit early issues in Barcelona testing as Bortoleto stops on track

The German outfit ran into its first teething issues on the opening morning of testing in Barcelona.

Gabriel Bortoleto’s RS26 came to a stop at Turn 10 with just over an hour left in the session, bringing out the second red flag of the day. By then, the Brazilian had completed 27 laps, with the cause of the stoppage still to be clarified.

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