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 handled the afternoon. However, the latter went off at the very end in Turn 14. As a result, Verstappen will not run again on Wednesday.
Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar completed 78 laps together on Tuesday, before the Frenchman ran off at the end of the shakedown in Turn 14. His brand-new RB22 ended up in the Armco. Video of the battered car circulated on social media, as did footage of the recovery truck that hauled the car back to the paddock. Red Bull later confirmed Hadjar had gone off and thereby recorded the first crash of 2026 to his name.
Red Bull weighing up options
“That was day two of the shakedown, with 78 laps for Max and Isack in the RB22′,” the team reported via its official channels. “Isack’s afternoon was cut short after he hit the barrier at Turn 14. He climbed out of the car immediately and was uninjured.” It remains unclear what the crash means for Red Bull’s remaining test programme in Barcelona. The Austrian squad has one test day left in the city. Because Hadjar already did a full day on Monday, Verstappen still has one complete test day available. According to team principal Laurent Mekies, the team must first analyse the options before heading back out on track.
“The checklist is simply too long to finish completely here in Barcelona,” he said. “It’s always a matter of priorities. If an issue arises you have to be flexible and adjust your programme. The priority now is to assess the damage to the car,” Mekies explained. “With just one test day remaining it’s crucial we make a measured decision. That kind of analysis takes time.” It is now clear Red Bull will not run again in Barcelona on Wednesday. Verstappen could still get mileage on Thursday or Friday, after which the focus switches to the public tests in Bahrain.
