Who is running on which day of F1 2026's behind closed doors test?
What we know about when each F1 team will run during the first test in Barcelona.
The first of three F1 pre-season tests takes place in Barcelona this week. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
As a result of the biggest regulation shake-up in recent F1 history, three pre-season tests will take place before the opening round in Australia on 8 March.
The first of these is a collective shakedown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.
The first test will run between 26-30 January and be held in private to enable teams and drivers to get to grips with their all-new F1 cars away from prying eyes and scrutiny of fans and the world’s media.
All 11 F1 teams are allowed three days of running out of the five-day window.
Here’s what we know about which teams will run when…
Monday
Seven of the 11 teams ran on the opening day of the shakedown. These were:
Mercedes
Red Bull
Racing Bulls
Haas
Audi
Alpine
Cadillac
Tuesday
Two of the 11 teams ran on day two, which was interrupted by on and off rain:
Ferrari
Red Bull
Wednesday
Six teams ran on day three:
McLaren
Mercedes
Racing Bulls
Haas
Audi
Alpine
Red Bull took Wednesday off following Isack Hadjar's crash.
Thursday
The following teams are running on Thursday:
McLaren
Mercedes
Ferrari
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Cadillac
Friday
These are the teams taking part in the final day of the Barcelona shakedown:
McLaren
Red Bull
Ferrari
Aston Martin
Haas
Audi
Alpine
Cadillac
*Mercedes and Racing Bulls have completed their permitted three days of testing.
Williams - Missing entire test
Williams announced last week that they will not take part in the opening week of testing at Barcelona after encountering delays with the development of their FW48 car.
The decision means Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will not get to drive Williams’ 2026 car until the first official pre-season test in Bahrain on 11-13 February.
“Williams F1 Team has taken the decision not to participate in next week’s shakedown test in Barcelona following delays in the FW48 programme as we continue to push for maximum car performance,” a statement from the Grove-based outfit read.
“The team will instead conduct a series of tests including a VTT [Virtual Test Track] programme next week with the 2026 car to prepare for the first official test in Bahrain and the first race of the season in Melbourne.
“We are looking forward to getting on track in the coming weeks and want to thank all our fans for your continued support – there is a lot to look forward to together in 2026.”
The significant blow to Williams’ 2026 preparations is reminiscent of when the team’s car was late to pre-season testing back in 2019. Back then Williams were in financial strife but thankfully things have since changed under the ownership of Dorilton Capital.
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