New Red Bull Racing driver Isack Hadjar definitely saluted the upcoming 2026 season in a strong way with a consistent performance in the first day of the F1 Barcelona shakedown. While it’s too early to discuss actual standings and values, the Frenchman impressed on his first day.
A strong debut as official Red Bull talent for Hadjar at the 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown
In his first outing for the championship-winning team, Isack Hadjar left a strong mark by logging in 107 laps around Montmeló. He rounded off a significant day by signing the fastest timed lap of the day in the afternoon. Timings do not hold significant importance at this stage of the Formula 1 season. Nevertheless, it’s worth to notice the consistency of the debutant Red Bull-Ford powertrain.
Completing over a hundred laps on its first official testing session is definitely a feat for Red Bull and for Hadjar, who summed up his experience after the end of Day 1 in the F1 Barcelona shakedown.
”Yeah, it was pretty productive. Surprisingly we managed to do a lot more laps than we expected. Everything went pretty smooth. We had only, like, minor issues, so it’s quite impressive considering it’s our first day with our own engine, so that was definitely smooth.”
The former Racing Bulls driver was also satisfied with his car feeling while approaching the new generation for F1 challengers. Additionally, he went on to explain that they feel rather drivable even at a at first touch.
”It’s definitely a lot less load in general. It’s a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation of cars. They’re more simple. It’s easier to play around with them, and also on the PU side there is a lot more options for the driver to play with.
“I already started to work on it today, so that was very interesting.”
A double debut for the Milton Keynes-based team
Not only it was the first day of school for the Frencan, but it was also time for another anticipated debut. Hadjar discussed after Day 1 of F1 Barcelona shakedown his first taste of the newborn Red Bull-Ford Powertrain. In particular, the former Campos F2 driver reckoned the similarities between his first official Red Bull car to his Racing Bulls predecessor.
”Honestly it’s pretty decent for a first day. It doesn’t feel too far off what I’m used to, at least, on my first season. On all the upshift, all the downshift, yeah, that was okay. So, we still have a few things to tweak, around, of course, but it’s solid.”
Finally, Hadjar also addressed his feelings as a driver for the team which very recently achieved, for the second time in its history, four World Championship titles in a row. He feels ready to tackle on the upcoming challenges after lengthy preparations. In fact, during the winter break, he relocated to London and spent plenty of time at the simulator.
”I couldn’t have prepared the year better. I’m happy to have at least a very good first day to pay that off, but we’re definitely not done with the work,” happily concluded Hadjar, looking forward to his next outing with Red Bull in the F1 Barcelona shakedown already.
