Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

F1 LIVE | Barcelona Pre-Season Test - Day 3

11:30, 28 Jan

Updated: 13:19, 28 Jan

bySamson Ero

Good morning and welcome to today’s edition of GPblog’s live blog. Stay tuned with all the action as the pre-season action unfolds from the Barcelona circuit.

After heavy rain hit the circuit in the morning, day three got underway under clear skies, allowing teams to finally return to running in dry conditions.

While only two teams — Red Bull and Ferrari — were on track yesterday, many more joined the action today, including McLaren, which finally made its on-track debut with the MCL40 in the hands of Lando Norris.

There was no shortage of drama either, with two red flags interrupting the session. One was triggered by another issue for Audi, as Nico Hülkenberg was forced to stop his RS26 on track, while Oliver Bearman also came to a halt at Turn 2, although the cause of his stoppage has yet to be confirmed.

LiveBlog

Leclerc delivers first take on SF-26 after first Barcelona testing

Charles Leclerc exuded optimism after taking the Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 out for its first shakedown of the 2026 season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The Monegasque driver, who hit the track during the morning session of ongoing testing on Tuesday, shared his thoughts about being back behind the wheel.

Photo: Race Pictures

Leclerc concluded his assessment on a positive note, highlighting how the team ran through its programme carefully despite the challenging conditions.

Hadjar suffers crash in Barcelona

Isack Hadjar suffered the first crash of the Barcelona testing after skidding off track in the final hour of his afternoon run.

The Red Bull Racing driver, who stepped in for the session at the weather-affected Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, lost control at Turn 14 and made contact with the barriers.

The incident prompted a red flag and left the RB22 with visible damage to its rear wing. It is currently unclear whether further components, such as the gearbox, were affected.

Hadjar in his Red Bull outfit - Photo: Red Bull Contentpool

Hadjar’s crash occurred shortly after completing his 51st lap of the afternoon, during which he had topped the timing sheets ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

While Hadjar suffered a crash, teammate Max Verstappen topped the timing sheet during the morning session of the test. The four-time world champion clocked a time over eight-tenths quicker than Leclerc, who also took part in the morning session.

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