First Free Practice Report & Results 2026 Spanish F1 Grand Prix

Event: Spanish Grand Prix
Track: Madring circuit

Weather: Dry, sunny & clear 28°C / 118°F
Tarmac: dry 48°C / 118°F
Humidity: 16%
Wind: 6.8 km/h East
Pressure: 943 mbar

Russell Sets First-Ever Madring Benchmark in FP1

George Russell claimed a small piece of Formula 1 history in Madrid by setting the fastest time in the first official F1 practice session ever held at the new Madring circuit. The Mercedes driver produced a 1:34.077 late in FP1 to beat team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 0.286s, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top three for Ferrari.

It was an encouraging start for Mercedes, but the stopwatch only revealed part of the picture. With all 20 drivers simultaneously learning a completely new circuit, track temperatures climbing beyond 50°C and grip improving almost lap by lap, FP1 was as much about understanding the Madring as outright performance.

Russell leads Mercedes one-two

Russell built his session steadily before finding considerably more pace once Mercedes moved onto the soft tyres. His early attempt on the C4 failed to trouble the leaders, but after putting together a cleaner lap he jumped to the top with a 1:34.077 and remained there until the chequered flag.

Antonelli responded late in the session and moved into second, reducing Russell's advantage to less than three tenths. The Italian arrived in Madrid on a considerable high after winning at Monza from 19th on the grid and extending his World Championship lead over Russell to 66 points. For Russell, who saw another opportunity to close that gap disappear in Italy, beginning the Spanish Grand Prix weekend ahead of his team-mate was therefore a useful first step.

Hamilton had earlier provided Ferrari with the benchmark. His 1:34.620 on the medium tyre kept him at the top as several rivals began experimenting with the softer compound, and although Russell and Antonelli eventually moved ahead, Ferrari's early pace suggested there was still more available.

Madring evolves with every lap

The first challenge facing the drivers was simply discovering where the grip was.

Track temperature stood at around 48°C when FP1 began and later climbed beyond 50°C, placing considerable thermal stress on Pirelli's C2, C3 and C4 compounds. Most of the field started on the medium tyre, allowing drivers to build confidence while the fresh asphalt gradually rubbered in.

Lap times fell rapidly as the session developed. Max Verstappen, Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Antonelli all featured at or near the top during the opening runs before the more representative times began arriving later in the hour.

Tyre management also emerged as one of the first potential themes of the weekend. Wear was visible on the front-left of several cars, while Williams team principal James Vowles reported that rear-left degradation was costing his team lap time. With the tyres receiving little opportunity to recover around the lap, controlling temperatures could become increasingly important when teams turn their attention towards longer race runs.

Drivers cautiously explore Madrid's limits

Considering this was Formula 1's first official running around the Madring, the opening hour was remarkably clean.

Drivers initially gave themselves plenty of margin around the barriers rather than immediately attacking the new streetcircuit at qualifying intensity. That caution gradually disappeared as grip improved, and the Madring began showing where mistakes could become expensive.

Antonelli locked up and ran through the dusty escape area at Turn 13, where Nico Hulkenberg had also gone off earlier. Fernando Alonso came even closer to trouble when he clipped the wall at Turn 8, although the tyre took the impact and the Aston Martin was able to continue without any obvious damage.

Crucially, there were no red flags. That allowed every team to maximise one of the most valuable practice sessions of the season. With no historical F1 data from the circuit to rely on, every completed lap provided another piece of information for engineers trying to understand the Madring.

Traffic already looks like a qualifying headache

While the barriers remained relatively quiet, another problem quickly became obvious.

Traffic repeatedly affected flying laps as drivers struggled to find space around a circuit containing several blind approaches. Hamilton abandoned one attempt after encountering a group of slower cars and later irritated Hulkenberg, while Carlos Sainz was also unhappy with the Ferrari driver's positioning towards the end of the session.

That could become significantly more important on Saturday. Drivers will need to create tyre gaps while simultaneously staying clear of cars arriving at speed through sections where visibility is limited, putting considerable pressure on communication between the pit wall and cockpit.

At the Madring, finding a clear lap may prove almost as important as having the pace to use it.

Tsunoda and Piastri lose valuable mileage

Yuki Tsunoda endured one of the more frustrating introductions to Madrid after reporting a power-steering problem. The Racing Bulls driver abandoned his soft-tyre run and returned to the garage, with the team not expecting him to rejoin before the end of FP1.

That lost mileage was particularly costly on a brand-new circuit where every completed lap adds valuable reference data.

Oscar Piastri also spent the closing stages in the McLaren garage after reporting that something appeared to be moving around near his feet. Mechanics worked on the car after it became apparent that the problem involved a component rather than simply a loose object, limiting the Australian's running towards the end of the hour.

Neither issue interrupted the session for everyone else, leaving the Madring's first Formula 1 practice hour remarkably free of major drama.

First advantage to Russell, but little settled

Russell therefore has the honour of setting the first official Formula 1 practice benchmark around the Madring, with Mercedes also taking an early one-two at a circuit that had not necessarily been expected to play directly to the strengths of its car.

Drawing firm conclusions from FP1 would be premature, though. Hamilton's competitive medium-tyre pace suggests Ferrari have more available, McLaren never fully showed their hand and several drivers clearly left time on the table while learning the circuit.

Most importantly, the Madring itself is still developing. More rubber, changing temperatures and greater driver commitment should transform the lap times as the weekend progresses.

Russell owns the Madring's first Formula 1 benchmark. Judging by the rate of track evolution, it is unlikely to survive Friday.

FP1 Times Table 2026 Spanish GP

The quickest sector times during this first practice session were:

• Sector 1: 29.081 sec by Charles Leclerc with the Ferrari SF-26.
• Sector 2: 33.661 sec by Kimi Antonelli with the Mercedes W17.
• Sector 3: 31.136 sec by George Russell with the Mercedes W17.

There is no previous fastest lap time, as this was the first-ever Formula 1 practice session at the Madring.

✅ Check out our 2026 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Preview.

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United States Grand PrixAustin · round 18 of 23

The Predictor F1-Fansite data model

Championship form and recent form. The starting grid joins in after qualifying, then the chances update.

1Kimi AntonelliMercedes · #1237%to win

2Max VerstappenRed Bull · #314%to win

3George RussellMercedes · #639.5%to win

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All 22 drivers: win, podium and points chances

#	Driver	Win	Podium	Points	Why
1	Kimi AntonelliMercedes	37%	80%	100%	P1 in the championship · 4 podiums in the last 5
2	Max VerstappenRed Bull	14%	46%	98%	P4 in the championship · 5 podiums in the last 5
3	George RussellMercedes	9.5%	32%	95%	P2 in the championship · 2 podiums in the last 5
4	Charles LeclercFerrari	8.2%	28%	93%	P5 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
5	Lewis HamiltonFerrari	7.7%	29%	93%	P3 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
6	Lando NorrisMcLaren	6.8%	23%	88%	P6 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
7	Oscar PiastriMcLaren	3.6%	14%	74%	P7 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
8	Isack HadjarRed Bull	3.2%	11%	66%	P8 in the championship · 1 podium in the last 5
9	Liam LawsonRacing Bulls	1.6%	6.7%	47%	P9 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
10	Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls	1.2%	4.8%	36%	P11 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
11	Nico HülkenbergAudi	0.9%	3.4%	26%	P14 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
12	Pierre GaslyAlpine	0.8%	2.8%	25%	P10 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
13	Esteban OconHaas	0.8%	2.5%	21%	P18 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
14	Franco ColapintoAlpine	0.8%	2.9%	22%	P12 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 2 DNFs
15	Oliver BearmanHaas	0.7%	2.8%	22%	P13 in the championship · no podium in the last 5
16	Carlos SainzWilliams	0.5%	2.1%	16%	P17 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
17	Gabriel BortoletoAudi	0.5%	2.0%	16%	P15 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
18	Valtteri BottasCadillac	0.4%	1.4%	12%	P22 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF
19	Fernando AlonsoAston Martin	0.4%	1.7%	14%	P16 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 2 DNFs
20	Lance StrollAston Martin	0.4%	1.4%	11%	P23 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 4 DNFs
21	Alex AlbonWilliams	0.4%	1.4%	12%	P19 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 3 DNFs
22	Sergio PérezCadillac	0.4%	1.3%	13%	P21 in the championship · no podium in the last 5, 1 DNF

Podium = chance of a top-three finish, Points = chance of a top-ten. Rounded; the win column adds up to 100%.

Season standings · 2026

PThe Predictormodel38 pts

1An Sionnach37 pts

2Shroppyfly37 pts

3Nobodysperfect31 pts

4Leopold Pleijsier28 pts

5Jere Jyrälä18 pts

6Casparovic16 pts

7ipeluri12 pts

8yhee10 pts

9Juandiez10 pts

10Kasra8 pts

11bearman's7 pts

12Mo6 pts

13Raceworks Media6 pts

14Rahmi Can6 pts

15Killabee6 pts

16Carlo6 pts

17MKL6 pts

18Sudhjd6 pts

19Tori Green6 pts

20Marcos Torres Barker6 pts

How the Predictor works

No bookmakers, no odds: every number comes from the F1-Fansite results database. Each driver gets a strength score from the factors below; the race is then simulated 10,000 times and we count how often each driver wins, finishes on the podium or scores points. It does not know about weather or reliability, and it says so. Grid penalties count as soon as the official starting grid is in.

60%Championship formPoints this season, relative to the leader.

40%Recent formThe last five finishes; a DNF counts as P20.

0%Starting gridHow often each grid slot has won over the last eight seasons. Joins after qualifying.

Before qualifying the model is honest about the odds: three or four candidates share most of the chance. After qualifying the grid takes over and the call sharpens.

12/17winners called

1.9/3podium drivers per race

2exact podiums

70prediction points

Calibration this season: when it said 7%, it happened 0% of the time; when it said 15%, it happened 7% of the time.

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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