RB22 makes official debut in Barcelona as Hadjar begins Red Bull journey
The RB22 made its official on-track debut on the opening day of pre-season testing in Barcelona.
Earlier in the day, Red Bull revealed the final bodywork of the car Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar will race in 2026, following the livery launch held at Ford’s headquarters in Detroit on 15 January during a joint event with Racing Bulls.
It was the Frenchman who took to the track in the morning, giving him the chance to complete his very first laps with his new team — as well as the first on-track running of the RB22.
Unlike Racing Bulls, who opted for a shakedown at Imola in recent days, the Milton Keynes outfit chose to debut the new car directly in Barcelona, becoming one of the seven teams active on the opening day of testing.
Hadjar also ended the morning at the top of the timesheets, although the lack of meaningful benchmarks and a slightly damp track made any real conclusions largely irrelevant.
Full schedule for the 2026 F1 Barcelona pre-season test
Each test day will be split into two four-hour running sessions. The pit lane will open at 9:00 CET (8:00 GMT), with the morning session running until 13:00 CET (12:00 GMT). Following a one-hour lunch break, on-track action will resume at 14:00 CET (13:00 GMT) and continue through to 18:00 CET (17:00 GMT).
Teams will be allowed to run on three of the five scheduled test days, with each outfit free to organise its programme according to its own priorities. As a result, several teams have opted to skip the opening day and focus their work later in the week, while others have chosen to hit the ground running from day one.
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The full schedule for the 2026 Barcelona pre-season test days
