George Russell edges Kimi Antonelli to top first FP1 session in Madrid
After an enthralling Italian Grand Prix last weekend, Formula One heads to a new circuit and location for 2026 in Madrid. The highly anticipated Madring is 3.364 miles long, featuring 22 turns around a tight street circuit.
Another note for this weekend: Isack Hadjar is still recovering from his wrist injury, so Liam Lawson will take the wheel of the Red Bull for the second weekend.
The drivers were eager to test the track, with all 22 drivers all lined up, awaiting the green light to indicate the start of the first of two crucial hours of testing. Most of the field headed out on medium tyres, with Gabriel Bortoleto the only driver running the hard compound.
George Russell was the first driver to attempt a fast lap, with the Briton aiming to bounce back after finishing as a runner-up to his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, in Monza. The No.63 driver crossed the line with a benchmark time of 1:45.035, but was quickly eclipsed by both the Haas and Fernando Alonso.
More times started to pile in as Max Verstappen shot to the top of the board, with Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris slotting in behind as the top three were separated by only four tenths of a second.
Hamilton quickly emerged with a top time of 1:35.563, bettering his previous quickest time by over half a second.
With 34 minutes left on the clock, the drivers were pushing to the edge, with many brushing the wall in hopes of finding a tenth of extra speed. The Ferraris remained in control of the session, with Charles Leclerc topping the times with a 1:34.683, despite running an older spec of the SF-26 following his crash in Monza.
The majority of the grid opted to change to soft tyres for the closing stint of the session, which worked in Russell's favour who clocked his fastest time of 1:34.145, which eclipsed Hamilton's top time by over four and a half tenths. The Briton bested his time further moments later by a few hundredths of a second, increasing the gap between himself and the Ferraris.
Yuki Tsunoda was forced to head into the pits after he reported issues with his power steering, despite the issues he placed the Racing Bulls car into twice.
Antonelli, who has had a relatively quiet session, switched to the soft tyres, which provided an edge against the Ferraris running on the mediums; he slotted into second almost two tenths adrift of Russell in the final ten minutes.
Oscar Piastri reported issues around his pedals; the Australian retreated into the pits to discuss a piece of his footwell that had broken off, drawing his first practice session to a premature end.
The top three remained unchanged, with Russell securing the top of the timing boards with Antonelli behind him by two tenths, followed by the pair of Ferraris with Leclerc in third and Hamilton in fourth. The second session around the Madring will take place on Friday afternoon, when the drivers will add more crucial learning mileage.
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