James Vowles has explained why Williams are skipping the private shakedown in Barcelona. While rivals are piling up miles on the Spanish asphalt this week, the Grove outfit are watching from the factory. In the paddock there was whispering that Williams
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Charles Leclerc expressed enthusiasm after his first test day in Barcelona. On Tuesday the Monegasque took the morning session of the closed shakedown. After a few short demonstration laps at Ferrari’s test circuit this was his first real introduction to the SF-26. Due to the weather conditions at the Circuit
Constructors’ champion McLaren also took to the track for the first time on Wednesday during the closed shakedown in Barcelona. The papaya crew skipped the first two days and will therefore be on the Spanish tarmac for the rest of the week. Reigning world champion Lando Norris took charge on
Audi’s closed shakedown in Barcelona has been anything but smooth. On Wednesday morning Nico Hülkenberg triggered the first red flag of the day after his R26 stopped out on circuit. The car had to be craned off and returned to the garage. The exact cause of the problem is not
The second day of the closed shakedown in Barcelona was hit by severe weather; only Ferrari and Red Bull dared the circuit on Tuesday. Despite heavy downpours both teams still completed a heavy amount of running. Leclerc and Verstappen opened the wet session in the morning; Hamilton and Isack Hadjar
The Williams team announced ahead of the private shakedown in Barcelona that it would not take part in these first tests for 2026. The British outfit has reportedly suffered delays in the development of the new FW48. There is heavy paddock speculation about what Williams is up against. Several sources
On Tuesday the second closed winter test was run at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. While seven teams kicked off the shakedown on Monday, day two was noticeably quiet. Ferrari and Red Bull had the track almost to themselves during both the morning and afternoon sessions. Conditions, however, made it difficult
