© 2026 Getty Images2026 Barcelona Shakedown Wrap-UpWhat we learnt from our first 2026 running
TheBarcelonashakedownmarkedourfirston-trackopportunitytoproperlyexplorethe2026carandthenewRedBullFordPowertrainsunit.
Over three days at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the focus was not on performance but on understanding. Mileage, reliability and learning defined the programme, and by the end of the week, we left with clarity, confidence and direction.
WhytheBarcelonashakedownmatters
Shakedowns are about foundation work. With a new chassis and a fundamentally different power unit, every lap helps us understand how the systems interact and where development focus should sit.
Across the three days, the car ran reliably with no significant stoppages, allowing engineers to concentrate on setup exploration, energy management and correlation work between track and simulator.
Sun Set Vibes© 2026 Getty Images
Driverrunningandmileagebreakdown
Both drivers played a key role, running on different days to maximise learning and comparison.
- DAY 1 (26/01/2026 - FULL DAY) - Laps: 88
- DAY 3 (29/01/2026 - AM) - Laps: 64
Liam focused on adapting to a car with lower downforce and a very different energy profile. His feedback helped shape early understanding of balance, deployment behaviour and drivability over longer runs.
“It was a positive and interesting three days of testing here in Barcelona. There's a lot to learn for all of us as the 2026 car is very different to drive, so I just tried to adapt as much as I could. The car has less downforce compared to the past, so it moves around quite a bit; there’s a lot of power when the battery is fully deployed but the way in which you have to manage it is something completely new. We’ve been trying several things on the car and it’s been great to keep building mileage on the new power unit. We had a pretty strong test in terms of reliability, but in terms of expectations, it’s very hard to say at this point, as we don’t know where everyone else is. I think that will stay quite unknown for a while, but we’re focused on our own job and want to keep improving in order to be in the best shape possible for the first race in Melbourne. Overall, we ended the test in a much better place to where we started on Monday. The next test in Bahrain is in less than two weeks so we’ll keep collecting data, but it's a completely different track to here, so I'll be curious to see how the car performs in those conditions.”
2026 Liam Loading...© 2026 Getty Images
- DAY 2 (28/01/2026 - FULL DAY) - Laps: 120
- DAY 3 (29/01/2026 - PM) - Laps: 47
For Arvid, the shakedown marked the start of his 2026 journey. His running prioritised consistency and mileage, building a baseline feel for the car and contributing valuable data for simulator correlation.
“We did some good testing this week at the Barcelona Shakedown. It’s been really exciting to get behind the wheel of an F1 car and properly start the 2026 season. We’ve been learning a lot about the car, and we’re obviously already planning on how to carry this work forward to the sim before the next test. Coming here with a completely new car and power unit, I feel like there was always an unknown and some uncertainty about expectations, but we’ve been able to gather good mileage, which is great. The focus these days has been on building mileage and consistency, trying to understand the car as much as we could and see how we could get out the most from every part of the car, since this is very different compared to last year. It’s been a great start to the journey for all of us and I’ve been enjoying it so far. A special thanks to the team for their support and a massive credit to everyone involved in this project; we’ll keep working hard based on the data collected and really looking forward to going to Bahrain.”
Getting Ready For A New Season© 2026 Getty Images
By the end of the week, we had achieved every objective we set out to complete. We explored multiple setup directions, ran the power unit across different modes and began understanding how to manage energy effectively. Energy deployment is one of the biggest changes under the 2026 regulations.
We began testing how the system behaves across different fuel loads and engine modes. This early data is critical for shaping future simulation work and preparation for pre-season testing. Just as importantly, we saw strong collaboration between the drivers and a solid operational rhythm trackside.
Getting The Car Up To Speed© 2026 Getty Images
The data gathered in Barcelona now feeds directly into simulator work ahead of official pre-season testing in Bahrain. Bahrain presents very different conditions and demands, making it the next critical step in understanding how our 2026 package behaves across environments.
The Barcelona shakedown was not about answers. It was about asking the right questions. And we now head into the next phase of the season with a strong foundation to build on.
Eye Spy A VCARB 03© 2026 Getty Images
