ISACK HADJAR’S BARCELONA CRASH: A ROOKIE MISTAKE OR RED BULL'S 2026 WARNING SIGN?
Isack Hadjar crashes the RB22 in Barcelona while Lewis Hamilton clocks his first laps for Ferrari. Get the full Day 2 report here.
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull’s recruit, crashed his car in the rain during the second day of F1 pre-season testing in Barcelona. He’s only 21, just wrapped up his rookie year, and already has a promotion lined up for 2026. On his first lap out on intermediate tyres—right after swapping from full wets—he lost it at the last corner and slammed into the barriers.
Red Bull’s keeping things quiet. The test is private, no independent media around, and they haven’t said a word about the crash. Still, people trackside saw what happened: the track was slick, drizzle still coming down, and Hadjar spun out backwards into the wall.
Up until then, Red Bull looked solid. They’d picked up where they left off on day one, and Max Verstappen even got his first taste of the car that morning. Verstappen had his own moment too—slid off at Turn Five on his out lap—but managed to keep going.
The weather played havoc with everyone’s plans. Only Red Bull and Ferrari bothered to run on Tuesday; teams only get three of the five days, so they have to pick their moments. McLaren, the reigning champs, weren’t ready until late in the morning and, looking at the weather, decided to hold off until Wednesday. Now they’ll run through the last three days.
Ferrari split their day between Charles Leclerc in the morning and Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon. They racked up 123 laps—almost the equivalent of two full races. Leclerc admitted it wasn’t ideal: “It’s not been the best conditions because it was a bit rainy, but we did our programme because we are not focusing on performance.”
This year, F1 has thrown out a bunch of new rules—fresh chassis, engines, tyres, and fuel. The hybrid system is more important than ever, so energy management is going to be a big deal. But Leclerc says it’s too soon to draw any conclusions about the new car.
“We haven’t pushed any bit of the car just yet; it was all about doing a proper system check on track,” he said. “We’ll know more as we rack up miles. First impression? Managing everything is going to be more challenging for us drivers—maybe that’ll spice things up. For now, we’ve ticked off the first checks, everything went as planned, and next is figuring out performance. That comes later in the week, once we see how everything works together.”
Ferrari needs a turnaround after a rough 2025—no wins for either Leclerc or Hamilton. The new rules are their shot at closing the gap. Leclerc’s upbeat: “I’m really excited to see what the others have and how we stack up when we start pushing. This year, every team’s got a chance to try something bold, maybe pull ahead. I hope we’re the ones who get it right, but no matter what, we’ll give it everything to get Ferrari back on top.”
MAX VERSTAPPEN CLAIMS POLE IN MERCEDES-AMG GT3 AMID F1 RULE CONTROVERSY
Max Verstappen lands pole in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Nurburgring while slamming F1’s "Mario Kart" battery regulations.
Max Verstappen just landed pole position in a Mercedes – and he didn’t miss the chance to take another shot at Formula 1's new rules. He’s using the gap between the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix to race in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, getting ready for the 24-hour event in May.
He’s in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Winward, running under the Verstappen Racing banner, teaming up with Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon for this four-hour race. Their qualifying run? Verstappen's squad nailed the fastest lap: 7:51.751 around the legendary circuit.
Honestly, this weekend at the Nurburgring is a breath of fresh air for Verstappen. He’s been vocal about his dislike for F1's latest regulations, which split the power pretty much evenly between traditional engines and electric systems.
These rules are some of the biggest changes F1 has ever had, forcing drivers to constantly watch their battery levels and use a boost button for overtakes. Verstappen didn’t hide his feelings, saying about the NLS race: “At least you can drive flat out without looking after the battery.” He’s been slamming F1’s direction for months, and after retiring late in China, he was running sixth; he doubled down, calling the system “Mario Kart". It’s not racing, he said. “We’re boosting past. Then you run out of battery, and they boost back past you again. For me, it’s just a joke.”
Verstappen made it clear: it’s not about sour grapes or losing. “I’d say the same if I were winning because I care about the racing product. It’s fundamentally flawed. It’s painful. It’ll ruin the sport eventually, and it’ll come back to bite them.”
An old press conference of Verstappen warning about the 2026 regulations popped up again online. He kept going: “You could have seen this coming ages ago. They should have listened in 2023. Maybe it’s a lesson, so this doesn’t happen again. You’ve got to be careful with how you say things, but we’re talking. They know where we stand as drivers. Some love it because they’re winning, and sure, if you have an advantage, why give it up?
“But talk to most drivers; this isn’t what we want, and I don’t think real fans want it either. It’s political. Some have the edge and want to keep it. I get that; I’m not stupid. But it’s just not good for the sport. Hopefully, we'll get rid of it soon.”
DISCOVER WHY JONATHAN WHEATLEY BELIEVES RED BULL’S STRUGGLES FUEL MAX VERSTAPPEN’S OUTRAGE
Jonathan Wheatley claims Max Verstappen's criticism of the "anti-racing" 2026 regulations reflects Red Bull's early struggles.
Jonathan Wheatley thinks Max Verstappen’s harsh words about Formula 1’s 2026 rules say as much about Red Bull’s current struggles as they do about the new regulations.
Verstappen hasn’t held back at all; he’s been one of the loudest voices against F1’s new energy-harvesting era, calling the rules “anti-racing” during pre-season testing.
Just two races in, Verstappen’s only got eight points. After Shanghai, he walked away without scoring anything. He finished the sprint race in ninth just outside the points, mostly because he lost ground when his car bogged down from a lack of battery power right off the line.
Things didn’t get better in the main race. Verstappen tried to claw his way back, but he had to park his RB22 because of an ERS cooling problem.
He didn’t sugarcoat his feelings. Verstappen slammed the new energy management rules, energy harvesting, and super clipping, all of it, as “fundamentally flawed". He called the racing itself a "joke". For him, the whole thing’s starting to feel more like Mario Kart than real racing.
“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch and have been practising Mario Kart, actually!” Verstappen joked when someone asked if sim time gives drivers an advantage now. “Honestly, I’m getting good at finding the mushrooms. The blue shell’s a bit tougher, but I’m working on it. No rockets yet, but they’re coming.”
He also warned F1’s leaders that these new rules could “eventually ruin the sport; it’ll come back to bite them.”
Not everyone’s moved by Verstappen’s complaints. Juan Pablo Montoya went as far as telling him, "There's the door.” Guenther Steiner, the former Haas boss, said it came off as nothing more than “toys out of the pram when it doesn’t go his way.”
Meanwhile, things look very different for Charles Leclerc. He’s been fighting for podiums in Australia and China and is loving the new era.
“I really enjoyed it,” Leclerc said. “Yeah, sometimes the overtakes feel a little fake if someone messes up their battery management; you get this huge speed difference. But we’re all learning when to push and when to risk it, and that’s creating some great overtaking spots. Today was a perfect example.”
Wheatley, watching all this, figures opinions on the new rules depend on how well one's doing. If you ask the guys up front, Ferrari and Mercedes, they love the new racing. The teams chasing them? Not so much.
He told reporters after the Chinese Grand Prix, “Talk to the Ferrari drivers; they’ll say it was a brilliant day. If you’re not winning, you just want to be able to race cleanly. Honestly, I didn’t see anything fake; every driver was fighting hard and fair. The midfield battles are fantastic; there’s a lot to like.”
And as for Verstappen’s comments? Wheatley gets it. When you’re struggling, it’s easy to point fingers.
