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Red Bull tops timesheet in Barcelona on the first day of pre-season testing

Isack Hadjar was reportedly the fastest driver by the end of the first day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.

Reportedly, Hadjar managed to improve on his quickest lap set during the morning, which was a 1:18.835 unofficially. His fastest lap time in the afternoon was, unofficially, a 1:18.159.

Mercedes were also impressive on the first day of testing, with George Russell setting a 1:18.696 unofficially, which was the second fastest time on the unofficial leaderboard.

Kimi Antonelli set a 1:20.700 in the morning session, a session which was affected by some damp patches out on the circuit, leading to various drivers racing tentatively around Barcelona early on.

What we saw from Day 1 of the F1 pre-season test at Barcelona

The 2026 season can now officially truly be considered underway, with seven of the 11 teams taking to the circuit on Monday. The circuit was initially relatively damp from some overnight rain, with drivers tentatively making their way around the Barcelona track.

Several teams were ready to get going right away when the pit lane light went green, with Mercedes, Audi and Alpine being the first to hit the track.

Most of the teams then shared images and videos of the cars out on track throughout the day.

However, coming into the second day of testing, it appears that a large majority of running will be affected by potential wet weather.

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What we saw from Day 1 of the F1 pre-season test at Barcelona

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