\nBut before any shake-up comes a shakedown, as 10 of the 11 teams (more on who is missing to come) take to the track at the Circuit de Catalunya this week to put their 2026 cars through their paces. <\/p>\n
\nF1 HEADLINES: Adrian Newey \u2018furious\u2019 as Christian Horner in talks to return<\/a>
<\/p>\n Barcelona testing schedule and session start times<\/p>\n \nTesting in Barcelona runs from Monday January 26 (today) to Friday January 30 inclusive – five days of shakedown action. It should be noted though that each team can only run for three of the five days.
<\/p>\n \nTesting each day begins at 0900 local time (CET), which is 0800 in the UK, 0300 Eastern or midnight Pacific on the West Coast of the US. The track is then open until 1700 local time (1600 UK, 1100 Eastern, 0800 Pacific). We are officially under way.
<\/p>\n How to follow the action on TV<\/p>\n \nOkay so we\u2019ve given you the good news – F1 cars out on track for the first time in 2026. But there is a catch. You won\u2019t actually be able to see them.
<\/p>\n \nThere will be no live TV coverage of the cars on track this week, the week is a total blackout and everything takes place behind closed doors.
<\/p>\n \nThere is though a way that rabid fans can keep up with the action – thanks to a genius move from Sky Sports in the UK.
<\/p>\n \nDRIVE to SURVIVE: Season 8 release date and big storylines<\/a>
<\/p>\n \nThat comes thanks to a nightly TV highlights show (also on YouTube)<\/a> fronted by the pitlane legend that is Ted Kravitz. That show will air at 2100 UK each evening, (2200 CET, 1600 Eastern, 1300 Pacific).
<\/p>\n \nOnce Barcelona is out of the way there are two three-day testing periods in Baharain set for February. February 11-13 will have one hour of live TV coverage each day, before February 18-20 has full coverage.
<\/p>\n What to expect from F1 testing in 2026<\/p>\n \nThe first thing we should not expect is to see any Williams cars out on track in Barcelona – the team announced late last week that it will be a total no show at Circuit de Catalunya<\/a>.
<\/p>\n \nAn official team statement explained: “Atlassian Williams<\/a> F1 Team has taken the decision not to participate in next week\u2019s shakedown test in Barcelona following delays in the FW48 programme as we continue to push for maximum car performance.
<\/p>\n \n“The team will instead conduct a series of tests including a VTT programme next week with the 2026 car to prepare for the first official test in Bahrain and the first race of the season in Melbourne.\u201d
<\/p>\n \nReigning two-time Constructors\u2019 champions McLaren will also not be around on Monday<\/a> – with Team Principal Andrea Stella revealing it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before their cars are on track.
<\/p>\n \nStella explained: “We wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible for development, because every day of development, every day of design was adding a little bit of performance.\u201d
<\/p>\n \nF1 2026 DRIVER LINEUP: F1 grid SET as Red Bull complete driver jigsaw puzzle<\/a>
<\/p>\n \nOutside of that, we expect everybody to be present, with all eyes on that new Mercedes W17 in particular<\/a>, and the new Ferrari SF-26<\/a> as year 2 of the Lewis Hamilton Project begins at Maranello.
<\/p>\n \nWe also have two \u2018new\u2019 teams on the grid with Audi taking over from Sauber and US automotive giant Cadillac coming in as a totally fresh entrant.
<\/p>\n \nTesting will also see some unusual elements which we only ever see at this time of year – including flow-vis paint<\/a> (fluorescent fluid that allows aerodynamicists to analyse the airflow over aero surfaces such as the sidepods, rear wing and front wing while it\u2019s on track.)
<\/p>\n![\"Kravitz](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/5e32e76df72b720e7a8d85fafc2b72b10d62112a.jpg\"\/)
Kravitz will host a nightly TV show.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/370caee0a836927e5b83935c4ffed82a77a4343c.jpg\"\/)
The new Mercedes W17.<\/p>\n