Formula 1 has completed its second day of private testing in Barcelona, and the focus for Red Bull is now on evaluating whether the team will return to the track on the last available day after Isack Hadjar’s accident on Tuesday. The French driver lost control of the RB22 on the last corner of the wet circuit, spun backwards, and crashed, damaging the rear of the car and prematurely ending the afternoon session.
With restricted communication and no live images, it is not yet clear if Hadjar made a mistake or if there was an issue with the RB22 equipped with the team’s new in-house power unit, developed in partnership with Ford. What is known is that the incident occurred in very difficult conditions and that the driver did not suffer any injuries.
Earlier, Max Verstappen had led Red Bull’s program in the morning, when he had only a short sequence on a dry track before the expected rain arrived. Nevertheless, the team decided to continue running in the wet, considering the enormous need to collect data on the technical package that debuts in 2026 and marks the first power unit developed internally by the team.
Team principal Laurent Mekies stated that Red Bull is still evaluating the programming for the next few days. Since each team can only run for three days within the five scheduled dates, and Red Bull has already been in action on Monday and Tuesday, there is no pressure to return immediately on Wednesday.
“There was important learning in the wet”, said Mekies. “Unfortunately, it didn’t end the right way, but the important thing is that Isack is fine and now we will try to do our best to repair the car and see what comes next.”
Mekies highlighted that the afternoon was extremely treacherous and that situations like this are part of the process. He also remembered that the previous day had been very positive for Hadjar, who completed a high number of laps and provided good technical feedback to the engineers.
“These difficulties came after a very positive day yesterday in terms of laps and learning”, he explained. “Now we are analyzing everything and need to evaluate the damage to understand if it will be possible to run on the next day. We only have one day left, so we need to play this card carefully.”
The executive also highlighted the feeling within Red Bull of putting the RB22 on the track with its own power unit for the first time, something that demanded months of intense work at the factory in Milton Keynes.
“It was a very special moment to be here with the RB22 and our own power unit”, he stated. “Nothing is perfect, it’s very early, but we managed to run, start learning, and work as a team. It’s something that everyone in Milton Keynes should be proud of.”
The decision to return to the track or not should be made by Red Bull in the next few hours, while the RB22 undergoes a detailed evaluation after the accident.
