The Red Bull Formula 1 team continues to evaluate its plans for the final day of testing in Barcelona after Isack Hadjar suffered an accident with the new RB22 on Tuesday.
In difficult rainy conditions, Hadjar spun and hit the wall on the final corner in Barcelona, damaging the rear of the Red Bull 2026 car and ending the Frenchman’s day. Given the limited information available about the closed-door tests, it is still unclear whether Hadjar made a mistake or if there was something wrong with his car.
Hadjar’s teammate Max Verstappen completed the morning session, managing just one dry lap before the predicted rain arrived. But given the enormous amount of things Red Bull has to discover about its car and its first-ever power unit, it felt worth racing in the wet.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says the team is continuing to evaluate its plans for the coming days following Hadjar’s accident. Given that Red Bull already tested on Monday and that the 11 teams are restricted to three days out of a possible five, there is no pressure on the team to go out on Wednesday morning, as it has already completed two days.
“We’ve learned a lot about rain,” Mekies said. “Unfortunately it didn’t end well, but the important thing is that Isack is okay and we will do everything we can to repair the car and see what happens next.
The conditions were very difficult this afternoon, so it’s a shame it ended like this, but it’s part of the game. Again, it has been very complicated, there is a lot of work to do in many aspects and these kinds of things can happen. Today’s difficulties have come after a very, very positive day yesterday in terms of the number of laps that Isack was able to complete in the car and in terms of his learning, development and feedback to the engineers.
It’s something we’re trying to look into now and we hope to get some answers later. The priority right now is to assess the damage to the car and see what it offers us in terms of opportunities to race the next day. “We only have one day left, so we have to make sure we play that card carefully and it’s an analysis that will still take a few hours.”
Laurent Mekies, Red Bull Racing team manager
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
Mekies praised the Milton Keynes team for their productive start to the 2026 pre-season, facing the daunting task of fine-tuning their Red Bull Powertrains power units, co-developed with Ford.
“We knew it would be a very special moment to be here for the first time with the RB22, with our own power unit,” explained the Frenchman. “The last few months and weeks have been incredibly hectic to get ready, but finally on Monday morning we were ready to race and I can only take this opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone in Milton Keynes, both the chassis and engine teams, because it was incredible to see the car leaving at nine-something on Monday morning with our own engine.
Of course, it’s still very early and nothing is perfect, but we were able to run, we were able to start learning, to work as a team. So it was a great satisfaction. “It doesn’t change the magnitude of the road ahead, but it’s certainly a first that everyone at MK should be proud of.”
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