Freddie Slater tops Day 1 of 2026 F3 pre-season testing in Barcelona as the Trident driver shines in tricky, wet-to-dry conditions.
Photo Credit: Formula 3

Slater hails “a productive afternoon” after topping Day 1 of F3 pre-season testing in Barcelona

Freddie Slater made an eye-catching start to his 2026 F3 campaign by topping the timesheets on Day 1 of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Driving for Trident, the British teenager overcame a disrupted opening day to emerge as the fastest driver once conditions improved, underlining both his pace and adaptability ahead of the…

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McLaren F1 driver, Lando Norris at the Barcelona shakedown
Photo Credit: McLaren F1 Team

Lando Norris “reasonably happy” with what McLaren gathered from 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown

Lando Norris 2026 Barcelona F1 shakedown running began later than most his rivals, with McLaren arriving late to the five-day event by design. The reigning champions waited until the final three days to put the MCL40 on track, prioritising full assembly and system validation over early visibility. By Friday evening, the Woking team had completed…

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Lando Norris of McLaren Mercedes on track at the 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown
Photo Credit: McLaren F1 Team

Lando Norris feels “surreal” carrying the number 1 on his McLaren at 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown

2025 F1 world champion, Lando Norris, took over the honour from Max Verstappen to drive with the car boasting the number 1 at Barcelona shakedown. The McLaren driver with number one, hit the track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Wednesday, with Norris completing 77 laps across a full systems shakedown. Norris admitted it still…

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Nico Hülkenberg discusses his first full day of running at the 2026 F1 Barcelona Shakedown. He claims Audi are positive heading into 2026.
Photo Credit: Audi F1 Team

Hülkenberg reflects on a slow start to his first full day of running at 2026 F1 Barcelona shakedown

Nico Hülkenberg had a difficult start to his first full day of F1 testing in 2026, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya shakedown. The German suffered a car issue, forcing him to stop on track. Hülkenberg was able to return to the track in the early hours of the afternoon to continue gathering valuable data for…

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Chief designer Rob Marshall discusses the McLaren MCL40, their run on Day 3, and their programme for the remainder of the 2026 F1 shakedown in Barcelona
Photo Credit: McLaren F1 Team

Rob Marshall “quite happy” with McLaren F1’s solid 2026 debut on Day 3 of Barcelona shakedown

Chief designer Rob Marshall shared his thoughts on McLaren hitting the track for the first time with their 2026 car, how innovative the MCL40 is, and their run plan for the remainder of the F1 shakedown as the third day of the private event in Barcelona came to a close. McLaren initially dedicated their time…

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Team principal Laurent Mekies reflected on Red Bull F1 running with their own power unit thus far as Day 2 of the 2026 Barcelona shakedown came to a close
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Laurent Mekies discusses Red Bull’s homegrown F1 power unit and two days of running so far at 2026 Barcelona shakedown

Team principal Laurent Mekies shared his thoughts on the RB22’s on-track debut in 2026 with their own power unit, Red Bull’s running until now, Isack Hadjar’s crash, how well the youngster is acclimatising, and their programme for the rest of the shakedown as the second day of the private event in Barcelona came to a…

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Mercedes driver George Russell opens up about how the 2026 F1 cars and several others teams impressed him on Day 1 of the Barcelona shakedown
Photo Credit: Mercedes F1 Team

George Russell shares verdict on 2026 F1 cars and teams after first day of running at Barcelona shakedown

George Russell has shared his thoughts on how he felt driving Mercedes’s latest F1 challenger, the impact of the 2026 technical regulations on the cars, why several other teams impressed him, and his primary objective for the upcoming campaign following the opening day of the pre-season private shakedown in Barcelona.  While Kimi Antonelli took to…

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While McLaren have unveiled the renders of the MCL40 in a testing livery, Red Bull have uncloaked their real 2026 F1 car ahead of Barcelona shakedown
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

McLaren and Red Bull reveal renders of their 2026 F1 cars as pre-season shakedown commences in Barcelona

While McLaren have unveiled the renders of the MCL40 in a testing livery, Red Bull have published the first images of their real 2026 F1 car ahead of the behind-closed-doors Barcelona shakedown. As F1 undergoes a major regulations reset in 2026, ten teams, apart from Williams, are utilising a shakedown event prior to the two…

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Fernando Alonso speaks at the 2015 F1 Malaysian Grand Prix about his mysterious pre-season testing crash in Barcelona.
Photo Credit: Formula 1

The story of Fernando Alonso’s mysterious crash at the 2015 F1 pre-season testing event in Barcelona

As the Formula 1 teams start to gradually reveal pieces of their 2026 challengers, from liveries to aero packages, it’s timely to revisit one of the strangest pre-season testing occurrences in F1 history. Coming into the 2015 F1 season, Lewis Hamilton was a defending two-time world champion with Mercedes whilst his former McLaren teammate Alonso…

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