Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had the track to themselves as rain arrived ahead of schedule on Day 2 in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
A brief red flag triggered by Verstappen<\/a>, wet-weather running, and an unofficial Leclerc 1:20.8 lap were among the highlights of the morning running on Day 2 of 5 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in action on Barcelona Day 2 morning<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n The F1 2026 pre-season unofficially got up on running on Monday as Isack Hadjar reportedly topped Day 1 of 5 in Barcelona. With this a behind-closed-doors test, information reaching the media was limited, this even more true on Day 2. However, important, unconfirmed updates emerged throughout the morning via unofficial sources.<\/p>\n Not long after the track had gone green at 0900 local time, Verstappen got his first go behind the wheel of the Red Bull RB22 in Barcelona, only to trigger a brief red flag.<\/p>\n Talk of a smoking Red Bull was quickly overruled, with the Dutchman instead reported to have simply gone through the gravel, resulting in a brief delay.<\/p>\n With surveillance helicopters reportedly prowling the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Leclerc pumped in a 1:20.8 once the track back to green, as Verstappen soon re-joined the Ferrari driver on track.<\/p>\n Since rain was forecast for Tuesday afternoon, Mercedes and Haas ruled themselves out of the day\u2019s running; teams are allowed to participate in any three of the five days of running.<\/p>\n Haas confirmed that rain was a possibility for much of the remainder of the week.<\/p>\n It showed up earlier than scheduled, and midway through the morning it was widely reported at the track.<\/p>\n More from the Barcelona F1 2026 shakedown<\/p>\n Gabriel Bortoleto explains Audi testing disruption after \u2018couple of problems\u2019 on day one in Barcelona<\/a><\/p>\n Red Bull and Ferrari singled out for early reliability strides in Barcelona<\/a><\/p>\n Fortunately, this did not spell the end of the action, as both Leclerc and Verstappen returned to the circuit to experience these new Formula 1 cars on wet tyres.<\/p>\n Leclerc was said to have registered a best time of a 1:46 on the wets, before conditions began to improve, allowing him improve to a 1:37.501, with reports of a 1:32 following.<\/p>\n The Monegasque clocked up 64 laps, per unofficial sources, during the morning, with Verstappen hitting 27.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n