Audi has suffered a second stoppage at Formula 1’s Barcelona test, causing one of two red flags early on the third day.
Nico Hulkenberg started Wednesday behind the wheel of the new R26 but came to a stop on the straight between Turns 9 and 10. The Race understands it was due to a suspected hydraulic problem.
This is Audi’s second day of testing so far, having started on Monday and then taken Tuesday off. Teams can choose which three days from Monday to Friday they run their car on track.
Full list of who is running on which day here
Monday’s running was cut short by a technical issue that the team noticed and took the precautionary measure of telling Gabriel Bortoleto to stop on track.
It did not get the car back out on the day, so was limited to just 27 laps.
Hulkenberg’s early stoppage is another setback for the new works team, which had prioritised reliability and mileage at this test to the extent of signing off a preliminary car and engine package early.
This allowed Audi to shake the car down at Barcelona back on January 9, well before any other team, and was hoped to give it an advantage in terms of maximising this week’s test.
While Hulkenberg’s initial five Wednesday laps added a small amount to its tally, Audi is lagging well behind the three engine manufacturers who have started this test very productively.
As of Tuesday, the others had run in excess of 900km over the two days, while Audi only managed 125.
Engine mileage as of Tuesday
|
Mercedes |
973.31 |
|
Ferrari |
922.09 |
|
RBPT |
908.12 |
|
Audi |
125.74 |
|
Honda |
0 |
Honda is yet to run at this test as its new partner Aston Martin will not have its car ready to be on track until Thursday at the earliest.
After a 21-minute delay, day three's action got back underway, only for it to stop shortly afterwards once more when Haas's Ollie Bearman came to a halt at Turn 2.
Haas had completed more laps than any other team on Monday.
Wednesday is already looking much busier in terms of team participation. Alongside Haas and Audi, Mercedes, Racing Bulls and Alpine all hit the track early when the test began at 9am while Cadillac should be rejoining the test on Wednesday morning too.
George Russell, Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto, Hulkenberg and Bearman have started the morning for their respective teams.
McLaren is also expected to debut its 2026 car for the first time, having skipped Monday and Tuesday.
