The opening of work for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix had George Russell as the fastest driver in the first free practice. The Briton from Mercedes clocked a time of 1min13s363, beating Oscar Piastri by a margin of just over two tenths of a second. Charles Leclerc secured third place, with Max Verstappen close behind.
The session passed calmly and without major incidents, notably marked by the presence of several novice drivers, an aspect that underlines the teams’ strategy to develop new talent. Among the young people in action were Frederik Vesti, who took Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s place at Mercedes; Dino Beganovic at Ferrari, replacing Lewis Hamilton; Leonardo Fornaroli at McLaren, in Lando Norris’ cockpit; Ayumu Iwasa for Red Bull, replacing Isack Hadjar; Paul Aron at Audi, replacing Nico Hulkenberg; Luke Browning at Williams, replacing Alex Albon; and Colton Herta at Cadillac, replacing Sergio Pérez.
Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto presented a more reserved performance, facing challenges with the control of his single-seater and concluding the session in 12th place.
Details of the initial session in Barcelona
The inaugural session of the race weekend in Barcelona was characterized by the remarkable participation of a new generation of athletes. Several young drivers took advantage of the valuable opportunity to gain experience in an official free practice session for the category.
Once again, emerging talents demonstrated their potential: Frederik Vesti was at Mercedes, taking over the seat from Andrea Kimi Antonelli; Dino Beganovic drove for Ferrari, replacing Lewis Hamilton; Leonardo Fornaroli guided McLaren, replacing Lando Norris; Ayumu Iwasa represented Red Bull, replacing Isack Hadjar; Paul Aron played for Audi, replacing Nico Hulkenberg; Luke Browning at Williams, in the absence of Alex Albon; and Colton Herta for Cadillac, replacing Sergio Pérez.
In the opening moments of the activity, Russell quickly established himself in the lead, recording 1min17s353 on medium tires. He was joined by Piastri, Leclerc, Lawson and Lindblad in the following positions. Gabriel Bortoleto was in 12th place after the first 15 minutes on the track.
Max Verstappen, who expressed dissatisfaction with the behavior of his car to the team, was only in sixth place during this phase of training.
Around the middle of the period, Bortoleto had a brief diversion into the run-off area at turn 8, but was quickly able to retake the track without any major problems. At the same time, Verstappen provisionally took the lead by clocking 1min17s047, using soft tires.
However, the Dutchman’s lead was short-lived. Russell, in his first attempt on soft tires, recorded an impressive 1min16s363, resuming command.
Despite being listed to participate in this session, young Luke Browning did not enter the track, opting to monitor the work alongside the Williams team engineer.
Soon after, Piastri and Leclerc secured second and third positions, respectively, consolidating themselves in the front group. Paul Aron, from Audi, stood out with a solid performance, remaining in sixth place until the final moments, while Fornaroli was in fifth.
During the final moments, several drivers chose to return to medium tires, simulating race pace. This strategy did not cause major changes in the final times leaderboard.
The next free training session is scheduled to take place at noon, following the official Brasília time.
Final classification of the first training session in Barcelona
- George Russell: 1:16,363
- Oscar Piastri: +0.203 (1:16.566)
- Charles Leclerc: +0.520 (1:16.883)
- Max Verstappen: +0.684 (1:17.047)
- Paul Aron: +0.958 (1:17.321)
- Liam Lawson: +1,109 (1:17,472)
- Dino Beganovic: +1,415 (1:17,778)
- Arvid Lindblad: +1,441 (1:17,804)
- Franco Colapinto: +1,530 (1:17,893)
- Gabriel Bortoleto: +1,846 (1:18,209)
- Carlos Sainz: +1,930 (1:18,293)
- Frederik Vesti: +2,002 (1:18,365)
- Esteban Ocon: +2,009 (1:18,372)
- Pierre Gasly: +2,145 (1:18,508)
- Leonardo Fornaroli: +2,221 (1:18,584)
- Valtteri Bottas: +2,551 (1:18,914)
- Pierre Gasly: +2,145 (1:18,508)
- Valtteri Bottas: +2,551 (1:18,914)
- Fernando Alonso: +3,704 (1:20,067)
- Lance Stroll: +3,955 (1:20,318)
- Colton Herta: +4,334 (1:20,697)
- Luke Browning:-
