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FP1 Results: Russell fastest as Mercedes leads Mercedes at Madring

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Confirmed

George Russell topped the first-ever F1 practice session at Madrid's new Madring with a 1m34.077s, leading Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by 0.286s. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third; Lewis Hamilton fourth. The session ran largely incident-free despite the track's complex layout, with no red flags raised.

Session overview

George Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, heading Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli as drivers sampled the Madring for the first time. [1] The 22 Formula 1 drivers delivered a remarkably clean opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix at F1's newest track, and despite all the concerns about the 22-corner Madring's potential propensity for sparking collisions and chaos, the initial 60-minute session was incident-free. [1]

Top ten classification

Russell posted a 1m 34.077s, which left him nearly three tenths clear of Antonelli, as Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished best of the rest on Formula 1's return to Madrid. [1] The full FP1 classification showed: 1. George Russell (Mercedes) 1m34.077s; 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. [2]

Notable incidents and technical issues

Sergio Perez was the first driver to encounter a problem, the Cadillac man requiring a new steering wheel, while both Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto remained in the garage for the first 15 minutes. [1] Yuki Tsunoda's Racing Bulls machine was wheeled into the garage with 20 minutes remaining, the Japanese driver suffering an issue with his power steering. [1] Barring a few yellow flags for spins and off-track excursions, the session was trouble-free with no red flags waved; numerous drivers had their times deleted with 12 violations at Turn 5 and nine at Turn 17. [3]

Rookie FP1 outings and substitute drivers

Yuki Tsunoda is standing in for Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls this weekend, with Lawson himself stepping into the Red Bull seat usually occupied by Isack Hadjar; Hadjar remains sidelined with a wrist injury that has kept him out for a third consecutive GP, with Tsunoda and Lawson once again taking on substitute roles for the Madrid weekend. [4] No official rookie drivers (those with fewer than two Grand Prix starts) ran FP1 as replacements; the practice session featured the full regular and substitute driver line-up.

Related reading

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/fp1-russell-leads-antonelli-and-leclerc-as-cars-hit-madring-for-first-time.1CiLnqKjDFMohqIlyx5uAm https://scuderiafans.com/2026-spanish-gp-fp1-results-full-classification-from-madrid/ https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f1-2026-spanish-grand-prix-madring-first-practice-what-happened/ https://www.pitdebrief.com/post/2026-f1-spanish-gp-fp1-results/

Related reading
Sources
  1. [1]2026 Spanish Grand Prix FP1 report: George Russell leads Mercedes team mate Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc (formula1). Accessed 2026-09-11.
  2. [2]2026 Spanish GP FP1 results: full classification from Madrid (scuderiafans). Accessed 2026-09-11.
  3. [3]What happened in F1's first-ever Madring practice session (the-race). Accessed 2026-09-11.
  4. [4]Full Spanish GP FP1 Results 2026 from Madrid (total-motorsport). Accessed 2026-09-11.
  5. [5]F1 Results Today: Spanish Grand Prix practice times and positions (gpfans). Accessed 2026-09-11.
  6. [6]2026 F1 Spanish GP | FP1 results (pit-debrief). Accessed 2026-09-11.
Published 11 Sept 2026