RUSSELL LEADS OPENING CATALUNYA GP PRACTICE AS ROOKIES IMPRESS
The Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend began with a sunny first practice session led by George Russell at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Several young drivers took part in the session as teams completed their mandatory rookie driver runs. Despite the new faces on track, the main teams quickly showed their strength, with Mercedes looking especially competitive from the start.
Seven rookie drivers were given the opportunity to drive during the session. Among them were Frederik Vesti for Mercedes, Dino Beganovic for Ferrari, Leonardo Fornaroli for McLaren, Ayumu Iwasa for Red Bull, Luke Browning for Williams, Paul Aron for Audi, and Colton Herta for Cadillac. Ferrari’s Beganovic worked alongside Charles Leclerc, while Fornaroli represented Italy in the absence of Kimi Antonelli, who did not take part in the session.
The session started under warm conditions, with air temperatures reaching 29 degrees Celsius and track temperatures close to 50 degrees. Most drivers headed onto the circuit immediately, although Williams suffered early problems. Carlos Sainz was delayed in the pit lane, while rookie Luke Browning was unable to leave the garage because of an electrical issue.
George Russell set the early pace for Mercedes on medium tyres with a lap of 1:17.414. Oscar Piastri was second, around two tenths behind, while Charles Leclerc was third. During his opening runs, Leclerc requested several front wing adjustments as Ferrari continued evaluating the car’s balance.
As the session progressed and drivers switched to soft tyres, the pace increased. Max Verstappen briefly moved to the top of the timesheets, but Russell soon responded with an impressive 1:16.3 lap despite encountering traffic in the final corner. Mercedes immediately looked strong on a more traditional circuit after recent races in Monaco and Canada. Piastri again finished around two tenths behind Russell, while Leclerc remained roughly half a second slower, losing most of his time in the opening sector.
Among the rookies, Leonardo Fornaroli delivered an excellent performance. Driving McLaren’s car, he finished fifth overall, less than a second behind Russell and only a few tenths behind Piastri. Paul Aron also impressed for Audi by placing sixth and finishing within one second of the fastest lap. Dino Beganovic produced a solid effort for Ferrari, ending his best soft-tyre run just nine tenths slower than Leclerc.
In the final part of the session, teams focused on race pace simulations. Barcelona once again proved demanding on tyre wear, especially on the left-side tyres. Russell’s long-run pace looked very competitive, with laps consistently in the low 1:21s and occasionally dropping into the 1:20s. Verstappen’s pace was several tenths slower, while Leclerc showed encouraging speed similar to Russell’s before traffic affected his final laps.
Pierre Gasly’s session ended early due to a suspension problem, while Luke Browning remained unable to complete a single lap because of the Williams technical issues. Overall, Mercedes appeared to be the team to beat in the opening practice session, McLaren looked like the closest challenger, and Ferrari showed promising signs with its race pace despite still evaluating its latest developments.
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