Red Bull Racing has made the decision to forgo the fourth day of the 2026 Formula 1 shakedown test due to delays in receiving spare parts. The delays stem from a crash involving driver Isack Hadjar, who lost control of his RB22 car during testing on Tuesday. Hadjar, newly promoted to Red Bull from the sister team Visa Cash App RB (formerly known as Racing Bulls), encountered difficulties at Turn 14, the high-speed final corner, while transitioning to intermediate tires amidst rainy conditions. This incident led to considerable rear-end damage to the vehicle, ultimately bringing the testing session to a premature close after Max Verstappen had completed his runs earlier that morning.
Fortunately, Hadjar emerged from the incident without injury. The resultant damage requires urgent parts to be shipped from Red Bull’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. Consequently, the crash has disrupted the team’s testing schedule for the private shakedown period scheduled from January 26 to 30. Up until now, Red Bull has utilized only the first two days of the testing program, choosing to skip Wednesday (Day 3) and Thursday (Day 4) while awaiting the necessary components. These parts are expected to arrive later on Thursday, potentially allowing the team to resume activities on Friday. It is anticipated that Verstappen will conduct further reliability assessments of the new Red Bull-Ford power unit during this time.
Other teams have faced their own challenges on Thursday. Haas reported mechanical issues, which prevented them from participating in the session, while Alpine opted to conserve their resources in anticipation of better weather conditions. Overall, the shakedown has been significantly impacted by adverse weather, affecting the testing programs of multiple teams. Despite these setbacks, reports indicate that Ferrari made the most of Day 2, achieving a productive outing.
As the shakedown testing concludes, any further delays could have implications for preparations ahead of the upcoming preseason tests scheduled to take place in Bahrain next month.
