Russell leads as rookies shine in opening F1 practice at Barcelona

George Russell took the top spot in the opening practice session at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri, while three rookie drivers impressed with times inside the top 10.

Russell seized top spot with the switch to soft tires for the second half of the session, setting the benchmark at 1m16.363s with a purple middle sector in his Mercedes. Piastri emerged as his closest challenger, the 2025 Barcelona winner putting his McLaren just 0.203s off the pace.

The Australian attempted a second lap on the same set of softs, but though he commenced with a purple first sector, the soft tires rapidly fell away in the hot and warming early afternoon conditions.

The ambient temperature hovered at around 84 degrees F, but the circuit sizzled past 120 F, straining the tires.

Charles Leclerc completed the top three in his heavily upgraded Ferrari, lapping 0.52s off the pace, while Max Verstappen followed in fourth a further 0.164s adrift.

Formula 1’s return to Barcelona following the opening preseason test presented as a good opportunity for seven teams to acquit one of their four required rookie outings for the season at the well-known circuit, two of whom excelled on the time sheet.

McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, substituting for Lando Norris, moved up to fifth place in the last 10 minutes of the session with a set of new soft tires. The 21-year-old Italian, who won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles back to back in 2024 and '25, was a respectable 0.853s off the pace and 0.65s slower than teammate Piastri.

Paul Aron, the Alpine junior driver on loan to Audi, followed in an impressive sixth. The Estonian, borrowing Nico Hulkenberg’s car, was 0.958s off the pace but, more significantly, was 0.888s quicker than teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who struggled in 12th.

Liam Lawson was seventh for Racing Bulls, the Kiwi 1.109s off the pace, which was enough to move ahead of Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic. The 22-year-old Italian, competing in F2 this year, steered Lewis Hamilton's car to a lap 1.415s off the pace and 0.895s slower than Leclerc.

Arvid Lindblad slipped into ninth in the second Racing Bulls car ahead of 10th-placed Franco Colapinto.

Oliver Bearman was 11th ahead of Bortoleto, who at one stage skipped his Audi across the stones at Turn 7. He complained throughout the session about a lack of rear grip, radioing that he was “sideways everywhere” and had “zero grip.”

Carlos Sainz was 13th for Williams ahead of Ayumu Iwasa, the Red Bull junior replacing Isack Hadjar for the session. Iwasa, currently second in Japan’s Super Formula, was 1.935s off the pace.

Frederik Vesti, the Mercedes junior currently competing in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, replaced title leader Kimi Antonelli and ended the session 15th ahead of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who retired early from the session with what he thought might be a suspension problem.

Valtteri Bottas led the way for the backmarkers, putting his Cadillac 18th and only 0.406s behind the midfield pack. He was ahead of Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who were 1.2s further back in 19th and 20th.

Cadillac development driver Colton Herta steered his way to 20th in Sergio Perez’s car. The nine-time IndyCar race winner, now competing in F2, suffered a significant snap exiting Turn 8 early in the session but was able to continue to end the session 3.955s off the pace.

Williams reserve driver Luke Browning did not set a lap owing to an electrical problem in Alex Albon’s car. The Briton, competing in Super Formula this season, will be given another FP1 at the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks from now.

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