Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 in controlled first practice at Madrid F1 debut

News Summary

• George Russell led the opening practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix with a 1:34.077, 0.2s ahead of Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
• Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton fourth after completing his best lap on the medium tyre.
• Formula 1 avoided the red-flag chaos seen in the F2 and F3 running at Madring, although the new circuit immediately exposed differences in tyre performance and car balance.

Formula 1’s first official session at Madrid’s new Madring circuit produced a familiar result at the front: Mercedes led the way.

George Russell set a 1:34.077 to top FP1 for the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, beating championship leader and team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli by 0.2s. Charles Leclerc put Ferrari third, while Lewis Hamilton was fourth after setting his best time on the medium tyre.

The first F1 running at Madring was considerably calmer than some of the incidents that had raised concerns ahead of the weekend. There were no red flags during FP1, despite the 22-corner circuit’s combination of close barriers, changing-speed sections and limited historical data.

The session instead became an early exercise in understanding the track.

Ferrari initially looked particularly competitive on the medium compound, while Mercedes found a significant step when switching to the soft tyre. The Scuderia also appeared less comfortable over the bumps and kerbs, while Leclerc and Hamilton struggled to extract a clean lap on the softer rubber.

McLaren and Red Bull were further down the order in the opening session. Max Verstappen finished fifth, Lando Norris sixth and Oscar Piastri eighth, while Liam Lawson was tenth.

The Audi pairing also made an encouraging start. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both spent time inside the top 10 and appeared close to Racing Bulls’ midfield pace, eventually finishing ninth and 11th respectively.

How FP1 unfolded at Madring

Madrid was hot and dry when the lights went green, with air temperature at 26°C, track temperature already at 48°C and humidity down to just 16%.

After the difficult F2 running earlier in the day, when Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak suffered a heavy crash that sent his ART car into the barriers and caused a lengthy stoppage, the F1 field approached the new circuit cautiously.

Ferrari had at least some prior experience of Madring after its filming day earlier in the year, but the rest of the field was effectively starting from scratch. Most drivers began FP1 on Pirelli’s medium compound, with the C2, C3 and C4 tyres selected for the Madrid weekend.

Lewis Hamilton set the initial benchmark at 1:36.066 during the opening minutes, with Leclerc initially seventh before moving up the order.

Leclerc subsequently improved to 1:36.725, while Verstappen went 0.042s faster than the Ferrari to put Red Bull between the two red cars.

Lawson, Antonelli, Piastri, Russell, Arvid Lindblad, Bortoleto and Yuki Tsunoda completed the early top 10, with Bortoleto the only driver in that group using the hard tyre.

With 45 minutes remaining, Hamilton lowered the benchmark to 1:35.563, while Leclerc moved within a tenth of his team-mate. Piastri and Tsunoda also improved, pushing Bortoleto down to 11th, while Hülkenberg sat 17th on the medium compound.

The Alpine drivers were among the last to establish representative times, initially leaving the team at the bottom of the order before eventually moving onto the timing screens.

Attention then turned to La Monumental, the heavily banked Turn 12 that has become Madring’s defining feature. The corner stretches for around 550 metres and reaches a 24% gradient.

Hamilton’s onboard footage showed just how quickly the circuit’s different characteristics arrive. Shortly afterwards, he encountered Bortoleto on the main straight and had to react quickly to avoid the Audi.

Hamilton eventually lowered the benchmark to 1:34.803 before Antonelli moved Mercedes into second place, within two-tenths of Leclerc.

Leclerc then responded to Hamilton and restored Ferrari to the top with a 1:34.683.

With 30 minutes remaining, Lawson became the first driver to make a major move on the soft tyre, jumping to fourth and going 0.2s faster than Verstappen.

Antonelli also began to extract more from the soft compound, setting the fastest time in the second sector, although he lost ground in the final part of the lap and remained 0.245s off Leclerc’s benchmark.

Hamilton subsequently retook first place by just 0.063s, with both Ferraris still on medium tyres.

The sector comparison was already revealing a clear difference in the cars’ strengths. Hamilton held a significant advantage through the final sector, which contains much of Madring’s more technical sequence, while Leclerc was stronger in the opening sector and through the middle of the lap.

Then Mercedes switched to the soft tyre.

With less than 20 minutes remaining, Russell immediately made the difference. He took 0.2s out of Hamilton in the final sector and completed a 1:34.145 lap, moving to the top of the timing screens.

He would go on to lower the benchmark again to 1:34.077, securing the first FP1 top spot in Madring’s Formula 1 history.

2026 Spanish GP — FP1 results

FAQ

Who was fastest in FP1 at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix?

George Russell was fastest in the opening practice session at Madring with a 1:34.077 for Mercedes, finishing 0.2s ahead of team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

How did Ferrari perform in FP1 at Madrid?

Charles Leclerc finished third and Lewis Hamilton fourth. Ferrari initially showed strong pace on the medium tyre, but the drivers struggled to extract the same performance on the softer compound during the early running.

Did FP1 at Madring have any red flags?

No. The first Formula 1 practice session at Madring was completed without a red flag, despite the difficult nature of the new circuit and the incidents seen in earlier F2 running.