Barcelona aims to hold pre-season tests in 2026.

      Barcelona is looking to rejoin Formula 1’s official pre-season testing calendar in 2026. This year, teams chose to conduct their three days of collective testing in Bahrain, expecting consistently sunny conditions. However, despite its desert setting, the Sakhir circuit has, according to Dr. Helmut Marko, been "colder than Europe," with particularly strong winds, and a power outage on the first day was described as "something I've never encountered in modern Formula 1."

      Furthermore, Bahrain's track features a unique stop-start layout, in contrast to the more representative turns of the Circuit de Catalunya. "We won’t be able to establish the order in a cold, wet Bahrain," remarked Williams’ James Vowles after rain fell on the track on Thursday. According to Bild newspaper, only Aston Martin and Haas had pre-ordered wet-weather Pirelli tyres.

      It remains unclear if teams are regretting their decision to go to Bahrain, but Barcelona may be in the picture for 2026 regardless. Many insiders anticipate that with the introduction of new chassis and engine regulations, Formula 1 will permit teams to undertake three full tests at the beginning of next year. Some speculate that Barcelona could potentially host more than one of those tests.

      According to the Spanish newspaper Diario Sport, sources at the circuit deny that an agreement with F1 has already been reached. A representative from the Circuit de Catalunya stated, "We are in discussions, and at present, we only know that teams will arrive here at the end of January, but it’s clear that we would like to return to the pre-season calendar."

      Although not officially included in this year’s schedule, Barcelona has privately hosted Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton’s run in the 2023 car. Shortly after, Ferrari and McLaren assisted Pirelli with tyre development for 2026 at the same Spanish location.