George Russell set the pace in the opening practice session at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes one-two finish on the newly debuted Madring circuit in Madrid. Russell clocked a fastest lap time of 1 minute, 34.077 seconds to edge out teammate Kimi Antonelli by 0.286 seconds during Friday’s action.
Mercedes Sets the Pace on Madrid’s New Circuit
Formula 1 returned to the Spanish capital for the first time since 1981, christening the 14th round of the 2026 season on the Madring layout. The venue marks the calendar’s first new circuit addition since Las Vegas joined in 2023. Russell capitalised on the untimed hour to establish an early benchmark aboard his Mercedes, needing a strong weekend to boost his world title ambitions, as reported by Crash.net.
Behind the leading silver arrows, Scuderia Ferrari claimed the next two spots. Charles Leclerc finished third quickest, trailing Russell by 0.459 seconds with a lap of 1:34.536, according to official timing records. Teammate Lewis Hamilton slotted into fourth place with a 1:34.620. Crash.net noted that Hamilton faced scrutiny during the session after being accused of blocking on three separate occasions, while also finding himself impeded twice amid heavy traffic on the tight layout.
Top Ten Breakdown and Traffic Struggles
Max Verstappen steered his Red Bull to fifth overall, finishing 0.626 seconds off the leading pace, ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris who placed sixth for McLaren, according to PlanetF1 data. Arvid Lindblad put in a strong showing to take seventh for the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls outfit, followed by Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren in eighth.
Rounding out the top ten, Nico Hulkenberg secured ninth for Audi, while Liam Lawson completed the top tier in tenth for Red Bull. Despite numerous drivers navigating congestion and managing traffic bottlenecks on the unfamiliar track, the one-hour session ran cleanly without a single red flag interruption, per Crash.net tracking.
Full Free Practice One Classification
- 1. George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:34.077
- 2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +0.286s
- 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.459s
- 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +0.543s
- 5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.626s
- 6. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +0.870s
- 7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) – +0.956s
- 8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +1.071s
- 9. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) – +1.452s
- 10. Liam Lawson (Red Bull) – +1.462s
- 11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – +1.575s
- 12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +1.680s
- 13. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – +1.757s
- 14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – +1.856s
- 15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +2.396s
- 16. Oliver Bearman (Haas) – +2.680s
- 17. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – +2.793s
- 18. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) – +2.862s
- 19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – +3.177s
- 20. Alexander Albon (Williams) – +3.514s
- 21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) – +4.073s
- 22. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – +4.741s
Further down the timesheets, local favourite Fernando Alonso placed 15th for Aston Martin, while Carlos Sainz logged 30 laps to finish 17th for Williams. Cadillac’s debut weekend in Spain continued to present a steep learning curve, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez occupying the final two positions ahead of qualifying preparations.
