What Isack Hadjar’s crash revealed about the new-look Red Bull

Isack Hadjar crashed on his second day as a Red Bull driver at last week’s F1 2026 shakedown in Barcelona.

The incident drew parallels to Pierre Gasly’s accident – a mistake from which he would not recover – at the same circuit in pre-season testing in 2019. But following the departures of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko last year, Red Bull is a different place these days…

Red Bull was sidelined for two test days after Isack Hadjar crash

A version of this article originally appeared in PlanetF1.com’s conclusions from the Barcelona shakedown

Following the departures of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko last year, there has been much talk of a new, more corporate Red Bull going forward.

A Red Bull that operates more like a modern race team with an umbilical cord to a major corporation, one more in the style of Mercedes than an oversized, semi-detached Formula 3 team that may as well have been called ‘Christian & Co. sponsored by Red Bull’.

For better or worse, you say? That is to be decided.

But a little glimpse of the new way of doing things arrived with Isack Hadjar’s accident late on the second afternoon in Barcelona.

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In previous years, the sight of Hadjar in the barriers would have been the signal for Marko to toddle off in the direction of the German and Austrian media to tell everyone, live and uncut, what he really thought.

A promising start marred by one big mistake, Marko might have said. Less than ideal with the replacement parts thin on the ground at the start of testing.

And anyway, he might have added, none of us realised what the new car was capable of until Max climbed in and showed what it could really do…

There is no question that Marko’s running commentary on all things Red Bull often made bad situations worse for the team, and especially its underperforming second drivers from Pierre Gasly to Yuki Tsunoda, over recent years.

This week, though?

There was nobody breaking rank. Nobody deviating from the message.

Nobody daring to publicly undermine Hadjar or apply pressure after one little error before he even started to get comfortable in the cockpit of the RB22.

Amid reports that the team was waiting on the arrival of replacement parts, Red Bull simply announced that it wouldn’t be taking to the track on Wednesday, missing Thursday’s running too before finally returning to the track with little fanfare on the last morning.

Hear that? That’s the comforting sound of peace and quiet.

Welcome, then, to the new Red Bull Racing.

More corporate, yes, but also more professional. More low key. More dignified. More united.

It’s a quite different place, you’ll find, to the organised chaos of old.

Red Bull reaction: What Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar and Laurent Mekies said after first test of F1 2026

Max Verstappen

“It has been nice to be back on track this week.

“The first morning I had in the car I couldn’t do too many laps because of the weather but Friday was good.

“We did a lot of laps today and that was really the key, we learned a lot and there are, of course, still a lot of things that we want to look into but it’s a good start.

“So much work has gone into this power unit over the last few years and to see it then go into the car and on the first day immediately do so many laps was great to see.

“There were a lot of emotional faces in the garage and that was very special.

“Everything is still a work in progress but we have hit the ground running quite well. We need time to understand the engine and make set up changes, you try to put as many laps on the board and try as many things as you can in the day.

“I think we are doing that and this is what this Shakedown was about and what we will continue to do.

“It is a complicated formula for everyone to get right, which means there is still a lot of work to do before we head to Bahrain.

“We will go again there and keep the work going.”

Isack Hadjar

“It was nice to have a good day on Monday.

“It was very productive and we managed to do a lot more laps than we had expected, everything went pretty smooth and we had only minor issues.

“It was quite impressive considering it was our first day with our own power unit.

“Unfortunately, on Tuesday, just after switching from wets to inters, I lost control of the car in the final corner and I know the aftermath wasn’t ideal for the team.

“The positive is that I have already started to understand and work on things in the car.

“There are still a lot of things to tweak of course, but it has been steady so far.

“These cars are different, very different, there is definitely a lot less load in general and it is a bit more predictable compared to the previous generation, they are a bit more straightforward.

“It is easier to play around with them and on the PU side there are a lot more options for the driver to play with.

“I couldn’t have prepared for this season any better and I am hoping to come into the year strongly, but we are definitely not done with the work yet. I am learning every day.”

Laurent Mekies

“We knew it would be a very special moment to be here for the first time with RB22 with our own PU, so on Monday there was a special atmosphere in the garage.

“The last few months and weeks have been incredibly hectic to be ready for this Shakedown, but ultimately we were there waiting to roll out of the garage at 9am.

“So I must take the opportunity to say a huge thank you and well done to everybody back in Milton Keynes on both the chassis and PU side, because it was a historical moment to see the car out there.

“We got more than a hundred laps in on Monday with Isack, which was a positive day and then Tuesday was a bit more difficult for us.

“Max ran in the morning and only got one long run in before the rain came, but we felt it would be good learning and interesting to run in the wet with this new generation of cars.

“We switched to Isack in the afternoon and there was no chance for dry tyres, but we got some good data in the wet.

“He went off at the end of the day in what were very tricky conditions and with a lot of things still to get right on the car side.

“It was unfortunate, but these things happen and it came after a very positive day on Monday for him.

“The number of laps Isack completed and the development and learning he and the team gained cannot be underestimated.

“It was an incredible job by the team trackside and back on campus to get RB22 back on track for Friday. There have been some long nights to ensure we got a third day of running.

“Max was in the car all day and he too got over 100 laps on the clock, giving insightful and beyond valuable feedback as we continue to learn about this new car and PU.

“We have a lot to take away from this week and Max’s experience and detail with engineering will help us shape the preparations for Bahrain and beyond.

“In terms of what we were expecting from the power unit in these first three days, I can only stress how proud we are of everyone back at base who delivered us this PU.

“Ford were here trackside to see everything come to life and it’s a big thanks to them for their part and support in this special story.

“Of course, it is very early days and nothing is perfect but we have started to learn already and work as one team on this.

“It was a great satisfaction, but it doesn’t change the magnitude of the journey ahead of us.

“We know we have to do our homework and take things step by step.”

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