Report
AS IT HAPPENED: Follow the action from Day 1 of pre-season testing in Barcelona
That is all for today...
17:05
Make sure you check back in on the website for reaction to today's action and we will be back tomorrow once again for Day 2 of pre-season testing. See you then!
🏁Session will not restart🏁
16:59
The Red Flag arrives with too little time remaining to clear the track and get back going, meaning it's Campos Racing and Noel Leon on top on Day 1
Here is the top 10:
P1 - Leon - 1:24.370 P2 - Varrone - 1:25.058 P3 - Duerksen - 1:25.274 P4 - Miyata - 1:25.583 P5 - Stenshorne - 1:25.712 P6 - Inthraphuvasak - 1:25.802 P7 - Dunne - 1:25.882 P8 - Camara - 1:25.928 P9 - Tsolov - 1:25.995 P10 - Herta - 1:26.025
🔴RED FLAG🔴
16:52
A third Red Flag of the day arrives with less than 10 minutes left of the day. Montoya is stuck in the gravel at Turn 1
Leon now fastest
16:46
Varrone had gone quickest but Leon delivers a 1:24.370 to go P1 with a time that's comfortably the quickest of the day so far
Leon and then Miyata goes to P2
16:28
A 1:25.599 on the Hard compound tyres puts the Campos Racing driver up to P2 before Miyata pips that by 0.016s to take second place with just over half an hour to go
Duerksen is back out there
16:17
And the Invicta driver goes fastest of all on a 1:25.274. He is the first onto the Soft Pirelli tyres
Inthraphuvasak into the top five
16:13
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak posts a new personal best and moves ART Grand Prix into the top five with a 1:26.504
🟢GREEN FLAG🟢
16:01
Track is clear and we are back underway once more with under one hour remaining of Day 1
🔴RED FLAG🔴
15:55
Joshua Duerksen brings out the second Red Flag of the day after a spin at Turn 3
Long runs underway
15:35
Teams have switched focus over to race pace and there are plenty undertaking a long stint currently
Hitech on the move
15:18
Miyata and Herta both post improvements to go third and sixth respectively for Hitech
Logging the laps
14:48
No major shifts in the current order as Stenshorne leads Dunne, Duerksen, Varrone and Villagomez in the top five
The VAR duo have the highest lap counts so far, with rookie Varrone on 15 and Villagomez just behind his teammate with 13
No hanging around
14:08
Stenshorne has carried on from where he left off this morning, setting a 1:25.930 to lead the way early on
🟢Back to green🟢
14:00
We have a green light once again and the second half of Day 1 is underway
Several drivers including both Rodins, Sebastian Montoya and Cian Shields head out right away
Ready for the afternoon
13:43
The lunch break is almost over and cars will be back on track at 14:00 local time to begin the afternoon running
Morning session ✅
12:00
And we are done for the morning running. Stenshorne's 1:25.437 leaves him fastest of all in the morning followed by:
P2 - Dunne - 1:25.452 P3 - Mini - 1:25.602 P4 - Tsolov 1:25.702 P5 - Leon - 1:25.815 P6 - Goethe - 1:25.829 P7 - Beganovic - 1:25.977 P8 - Miyata - 1:26.516 P9 - Boya - 1:26.519 P10 - Inthraphuvasak - 1:26.611
Stenshorne to the top
11:55
Five minutes to go and Martinius Stenshorne sends Rodin to the top. A 1:25.437 puts him 0.165s clear of the pack.
Teammate Alexander Dunne follows his lead and goes up to P2, 0.015s down on the Norwegian's time.
Improvements coming
11:40
A bit more urgency now and Campos Racing go second and fourth with Nikola Tsolov and Noel Leon respectively. The Bulgarian is P2, 0.1s exactly off Mini's time.
Leon is then able to move himself up to P3 on his next flying lap.
NEW LEADER: Gabriele Mini
11:38
And then his teammate goes and sets a 1:25.602 to go quickest with over 20 minutes remaining
The break approaches
11:33
Teams remain busy as the track continues to ramp up. There are several drivers logging laps as we approach the halfway point of Day 1 but Goethe remains fastest so far with his earlier time
🟢GREEN AGAIN🟢
11:08
Back underway in Barcelona with 52 minutes left to run this morning
🔴RED FLAG🔴
11:03
Nikola Tsolov has come to a halt on track
Track is getting busy
10:45
We had to wait a while but there's plenty going on now as the track fills up. Hitech, Invicta Racing, DAMS Lucas Oil, PREMA Racing, Rodin Motorpsort and Van Amersfoort Racing are all out there
Goethe fastest on a 1:26.040
10:37
Both MP drivers return to the pitlane and the track falls silent once more. Goethe has the fastest time and both have 11 laps on the board in total
We have laps on the board
10:27
A 1:33.803 from Goethe is the leading time with just over an hour and a half of this first morning to go.
They both go quicker and Mini now heads things up on a 1:26.375
MP on track
10:22
We have movement! MP Motorsport send out both their drivers with Gabriele Mini and Oliver Goethe heading out
Keep an eye on the times
10:15
Remember, you can keep up to date with the sectors via live timing once teams decide to make a move!
A quiet start...
09:58
In the meantime, shall we have our first look at the 2026 field in action?
No times just yet
09:25
No laptimes to report just yet as teams continue with their checks. In the meantime, here is a round-up of some news you might have missed over the winter break:
- Leonardo Fornaroli named McLaren Reserve Driver for 2026 F1 Season
- Luke Browning named Williams F1 Reserve Driver for 2026
- Jack Doohan joins Haas F1 Team as Reserve Driver for 2026
- Zhou Guanyu named Cadillac F1 Reserve Driver for 2026
- Ralph Boschung joins Audi F1 Team as Development Driver
🟢GREEN LIGHT🟢
09:00
We are go for 2026!
Decent conditions
08:53
It's chilly in Barcelona this morning but the track is dry which means after installation laps and systems checks are complete, there shouldn't be anything preventing teams from accumulating some nice early mileage on Day 1.
If you are dropping in for the first time this season, here's a quick guide to the 2026 Formula 2 season to catch you up:
Good Morning!
08:45
Welcome to Barcelona where we are not far away from seeing cars on track for the first time in 2026. Three days of pre-season testing will be covered on our all-new live blog that will keep you up to date with everything going on throughout the week.
If you would like to follow all of the times across the test, live timing is available here: LIVE TIMING