All you need to know about F1 testing in 2026

Ten new cars, five days, no fans. And plenty of security. Formula 1 started a new era with the public and the media excluded from the teams' reliability-focused private testing session in Spain on Monday.

Barcelona Shakedown shows starting from Monday, live on Sky Sports F1 YouTube at 7pm or at 9pm on the TV channel after each day of the closed test in Spain

The F1 teams are testing their 2026 cars at the Barcelona track this week. But why is the action not open to the public?

SPORTbible has contacted Formula 1 for comment. It has since been clarified that the lap times are handled by the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and released upon agreeing with the teams involved. F1 did not cut live feeds as they did not organise the private tests in Spain.

McLaren has released the first images of the car Lando Norris will use to defend his Formula 1 title, albeit finished in an interim testing livery.