2026 Spanish GP FP1: Russell sets Madrid benchmark

George Russell established the early pace at Formula 1’s new Madring circuit, leading Mercedes team mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the opening practice session for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix.

George Russell claimed the first official Formula 1 practice benchmark at the Madring, putting Mercedes on top as the drivers began the process of decoding the championship’s newest circuit. The Briton produced a best lap of 1m 34.077s to finish 0.286s ahead of team mate Kimi Antonelli, giving Mercedes an encouraging one-two at the beginning of a weekend that could play an important role in the 2026 F1 World Championship.

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Ferrari emerged as the closest challenger during the opening hour. Charles Leclerc ended the session third, 0.459s away from Russell, while Lewis Hamilton took fourth with a time 0.543s slower than the leader. Max Verstappen completed the top five for Red Bull, 0.626s off the pace.

2026 Spanish Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Spanish Grand Prix FP1, 11 September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:34.077	28
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.286s	27
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.459s	27
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.543s	27
5	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.626s	25
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.870s	27
7	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+0.956s	28
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.071s	22
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+1.452s	26
10	30	Liam Lawson	Red Bull Racing	+1.462s	26
11	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.575s	27
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.757s	25
13	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.856s	24
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+2.167s	23
15	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.396s	27
16	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+2.776s	24
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+2.793s	30
18	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	+2.862s	16
19	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+3.177s	26
20	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+3.514s	25
21	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+4.073s	26
22	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+4.741s	25

A blank page for every team

When the pit-lane light turned green at 1330 local time, the field wasted little time heading onto the new 22-corner layout. With no previous Formula 1 running at the Madring to draw upon, the first hour was as much about gathering data and understanding the circuit as it was about chasing a headline lap time.

Cars quickly filled the 5.414km track as teams worked through installation checks, ride-height evaluations and their first real-world comparisons with simulator data. Traffic became an immediate complication, with drivers regularly encountering slower cars while attempting to learn their way around the unfamiliar street circuit.

Not everyone enjoyed a straightforward start. Sergio Perez was the first driver to report a technical problem, with the Cadillac racer requiring a replacement steering wheel. Alpine delayed the beginning of its programme, meanwhile, as Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto remained in the garage throughout the opening 15 minutes.

Once running intensified, Esteban Ocon offered an early assessment over the radio, reporting that “the grip is high”. Lap times fell rapidly as the surface developed and drivers built confidence, with most of the field initially completing its work on Pirelli’s Medium compound.

The search for the limit inevitably brought mistakes. Antonelli ran beyond the track at Turn 13, while Audi team mates Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg both cut across the Turn 5 chicane. Those excursions underlined the challenge of judging braking points and corner approaches on a circuit the drivers had previously experienced only through simulation.

Mercedes strikes as the track evolves

At the halfway stage, Hamilton held first place with a 1m 34.620s. The seven-time World Champion was only fractionally ahead of Ferrari team mate Leclerc, while Antonelli sat another two tenths behind despite already having sampled the Soft tyre.

Russell’s first attempt on the red-walled compound did not produce a representative time after he encountered traffic and abandoned the lap. Liam Lawson encountered fewer difficulties on the same tyre, using it to move his Red Bull into fourth position during the opening part of the final half-hour.

The Mercedes driver soon found the clear track he needed. Russell initially moved into third behind the two Ferraris and ahead of Antonelli as grip continued to improve around the circuit. Tyre behaviour was already becoming an important part of the picture, however, with Verstappen suffering graining on his Mediums.

Yuki Tsunoda’s programme then came to a premature end. His Racing Bulls car was returned to the garage with 20 minutes remaining after developing a power-steering problem, preventing the Japanese driver from joining the late-session qualifying simulations.

With the focus shifting towards single-lap performance, Russell moved to the top with a 1m 34.145s. He found another 0.068s before the chequered flag, lowering the standard to 1m 34.077s and securing first place in the inaugural Formula 1 session at the Madring.

Leclerc was unable to answer Russell’s improvement. The Ferrari driver struggled to extract more time from the Soft compound and ran into the Turn 17 run-off area during his push-lap programme. Antonelli made better use of the closing minutes, climbing into second and reducing the deficit to his team mate to less than three tenths.

Ferrari leads the chasing group

Leclerc remained third at the finish, just under half a second behind Russell, with Hamilton fourth after setting his quickest time on the Medium tyre. Verstappen placed fifth, followed by the McLaren of Lando Norris in sixth.

Arvid Lindblad took seventh for Racing Bulls, finishing ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren. Hulkenberg secured ninth for Audi, while Lawson rounded out the top 10 after briefly featuring much higher on the timing screens during the Soft-tyre runs.

Bortoleto ended the session in 11th place, followed by Ocon’s Haas in 12th. The two Alpine drivers recovered from their delayed starts to take 13th and 14th, with Colapinto leading Gasly, while home favourite Fernando Alonso placed his Aston Martin 15th.

Ollie Bearman was 16th in the second Haas, one position ahead of Madrid local Carlos Sainz, who began his home weekend in 17th for Williams. The sidelined Tsunoda finished 18th, ahead of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Alex Albon in the second Williams.

Cadillac occupied the final two positions at the end of the hour. Perez finished 21st after his early steering-wheel change, with team mate Valtteri Bottas completing the 22-car order.

Although FP1 offered the first indications of the competitive picture, the rapidly evolving surface, varied tyre programmes and persistent traffic made firm conclusions difficult. Mercedes nevertheless left the opening session with the strongest possible start: Russell at the head of the times and title leader Antonelli close behind as Formula 1’s Madrid era officially began.