In the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, Lando Norris from McLaren took the lead, showing early signs of a competitive weekend in Barcelona. Max Verstappen from Red Bull initially set the pace with the hard tires, which are the hardest compounds for this race. However, Norris managed to match Verstappen’s lap time when he switched to the soft tires, finishing the session at the top by a small margin. This suggests that Red Bull’s improvements may not have immediately restored their dominance, despite the more conventional track compared to previous races.
Ferrari, like Red Bull, brought significant improvements to the race and had a mixed session. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc initially struggled with the hard tires, with Leclerc describing the feeling in his car as “horrendous”. Sainz’s switch to the medium tires resulted in the third fastest lap time, while Leclerc had difficulties completing a clean lap. Meanwhile, Mercedes continued their recovery after the improvements in Monaco, with George Russell right behind Sainz on the medium tires.
Sergio Perez from Red Bull improved his lap time when he switched to the soft tires, reducing the gap to Verstappen. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished in sixth place, followed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Esteban Ocon from Alpine had an encouraging session, finishing in eighth place with his best time set on the medium tires.
There was a brief interruption with a red flag when the front wing of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin came loose, causing debris on the track. This was the closest situation to a serious incident during the session. Additionally, the DRS flap of Valtteri Bottas’ upgraded Sauber front wing caused a dramatic visual effect, trembling uncontrollably.
Ollie Bearman, substituting Haas in FP1, finished in 19th place. He stayed a little behind Haas’ regular driver, Kevin Magnussen, in the early laps and fell even further behind after attempts with the soft tires.
