Behind closed doors: day one of F1's covert 2026 shakedown

F1’s 2026 shakedown began at Barcelona behind a heavy security perimeter, with Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli first to the track in the W17 and Audi/Alpine facing early issues. Several major teams sat out or delayed running, while unofficial timings circulated but were not representative of the week’s programmes. Esteban Ocon led the unofficial lap count by midday, finishing with about 154 laps; George Russell had 93, Antonelli 56, Colapinto 60 and Liam Lawson 88. Cadillac and Audi reported issues to fix for the rest of the week, and the day’s access restrictions kept most observations to a minimum.