2026 Shakedown Week – Running Day 1 Recap

One of seven teams to run at the home of the Spanish Grand Prix on Monday, TGR Haas F1 Team welcomed Esteban Ocon behind the wheel of the VF-26 – the Frenchman having witnessed teammate Ollie Bearman sample the car for the first time 48 hours earlier at a private filming day hosted at Italy’s Fiorano Circuit where the British racer successfully completed the team’s planned run program.

Conditions proved favorable with overhead conditions sunny but cool – with rain threatening for much of the remainder of the week. Early morning runs on wet and intermediate rubber were followed by a switch onto slick tires for the rest of the day – the focus of Monday’s running purely reliability and systems checks on the VF-26.

During Shakedown Week each team is permitted a total of three days of track time. Two more official tests follow at the Bahrain International Circuit, February 11-13 and 18-20 respectively before the season opener of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship – the Australian Grand Prix, held in Melbourne, March 6-8.

Ayao Komatsu – Team Principal:

“In terms of the mileage we’ve been able to do today it’s been really good, but behind the scenes it’s been a huge amount of work – I’m sure it’s been the same for everyone. To have completed Saturday’s full permitted mileage at Fiorano was monumental, and then to come here and be ready to run first thing Monday in Spain, it’s been an incredible effort from the whole team and honestly very satisfying to achieve. As the day’s progressed, we’ve been able to start to look into the details more, but with these new regulations it’s just been so important to be running – every time we go out we learn something new, that’s what we’re here for. We’re gathering data and identifying issues that need to be solved, but we’re only getting started. That said, I’m happy with how we’ve started this week. We all have a huge challenge ahead of us but you’ll see a lot of evolution through testing and then through the season which will be interesting for everyone.”

Esteban Ocon:

“First off, it’s been an unbelievable effort from the whole team to get the car ready and out on track at 09:20 this morning. We were ready at 09:00 but wanted to see an improvement in track conditions and some other things just to be perfect before we went out. From the Fiorano run out with Ollie on Saturday, to being here running from the morning today, people have moved mountains to make it work. We’ve worked through our plan, we’ve learned as we’ve progressed through the day – and of course it’s a busy plan obviously focusing on getting mileage onto the car. We’ll keep pushing to make sure all the details are covered, but at least this year we have more days than usual. We’ll see what we can improve, so we can ensure that we take the right development path and put the resources where they matter the most. For the first real day of driving a new car though, I think it’s gone well.”