Practice report
Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP
F1 Barcelona GP: George Russell tops Barcelona first practice
Russell aims to rebound from a disappointing Monaco weekend as he tops FP1 ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Jun 12, 2026, 5:04 PM
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George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Mercedes F1 driver George Russell has topped first free practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, heading McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at Montmelo.
On a hot Friday afternoon, Russell set a best time of 1m16.363s to head Piastri by two tenths. In a heavily upgraded Ferrari SF-26, which includes a new front wing and floor, Leclerc was 0.520s behind in third, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren FP1 driver Leonardo Fornaroli.
A third of the way through the one-hour session, Russell upped the ante with a 1m17.353s lap on Pirelli's medium-tyres, which was soon bested by Verstappen's 1m17.047s, on softs.
Around the halfway mark, Russell took a significant bite out of his time to set a 1m16.363s lap, a benchmark which would remain untouched for the remainder of the session.
Piastri was a strong second on mediums, just two tenths back and ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen, who initially complained about the unpredictable mix of understeer and oversteer in his Red Bull RB22.
Standing in for world champion Lando Norris, Fornaroli was the first of a sizeable rookie crop in Barcelona, which is a safe proving ground for teams to satisfy one of their four rookie outing requirements.
Paul Aron was in action for Audi
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Paul Aron took sixth for Audi in Nico Hulkenberg's car, ahead of Liam Lawson and Dino Beganovic, who took the reins of Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari. Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto rounded out the top 10.
Elsewhere, Ayumu Iwasa was in Isack hadjar's Red Bull in 14th, while 15th-placed Frederik Vesti deputised for championship leader Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.
F2 driver and former IndyCar ace Colton Herta received his first FP1 outing with Cadillac as he prepares for a possible F1 future, with the Californian 21st and last of the drivers establishing a laptime.
That's because Williams reserve Luke Browning was not able to run due to suspected electrical issues on Alex Albon's FW48. The Super Formula driver is set for another outing in two weeks at the Austrian Grand Prix.
F1 Barcelona GP: FP1 results
All Stats
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval Tyres km/h 1 G. Russell Mercedes 63
Mercedes Mercedes 27
1'16.363
S 219.546 2 O. Piastri McLaren 81
McLaren Mercedes 28
+0.203
1'16.566
0.203 S 218.964 3 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
Ferrari Ferrari 28
+0.520
1'16.883
0.317 S 218.061 4 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
Red Bull Red Bull 29
+0.684
1'17.047
0.164 S 217.597 5
L. Fornaroli McLaren
67 
McLaren Mercedes 22
+0.853
1'17.216
0.169 S 217.120 6
P. Aron Audi
97 
Audi Audi 24
+0.958
1'17.321
0.105 S 216.825 7 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
RB Red Bull 24
+1.109
1'17.472
0.151 S 216.403 8
D. Beganovic Ferrari
38 
Ferrari Ferrari 30
+1.415
1'17.778
0.306 S 215.551 9 A. Lindblad Racing Bulls 41
RB Red Bull 29
+1.441
1'17.804
0.026 S 215.479 10 F. Colapinto Alpine 43
Alpine Mercedes 28
+1.530
1'17.893
0.089 S 215.233 11 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
Haas Ferrari 25
+1.809
1'18.172
0.279 S 214.465 12 G. Bortoleto Audi 5
Audi Audi 28
+1.846
1'18.209
0.037 S 214.364 13 C. Sainz Williams 55
Williams Mercedes 27
+1.930
1'18.293
0.084 S 214.134 14 A. Iwasa Red Bull Racing 36
Red Bull Red Bull 21
+1.935
1'18.298
0.005 S 214.120 15 F. Vesti Mercedes 72
Mercedes Mercedes 28
+2.002
1'18.365
0.067 S 213.937 16 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
Haas Ferrari 27
+2.009
1'18.372
0.007 S 213.918 17 P. Gasly Alpine 10
Alpine Mercedes 23
+2.145
1'18.508
0.136 S 213.547 18 V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team 77
Cadillac Ferrari 23
+2.551
1'18.914
0.406 S 212.448 19 F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14
Aston Martin Honda 23
+3.704
1'20.067
1.153 S 209.389 20 L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18
Aston Martin Honda 21
+3.955
1'20.318
0.251 S 208.735 21 C. Herta Cadillac F1 Team 25
Cadillac Ferrari 27
+4.334
1'20.697
0.379 S 207.754 22
L. Browning Williams
46 Williams Mercedes 0
View full results
Photos from Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix - Friday
Formula 1
52
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Formula 1Ferrari unleashes major Barcelona F1 upgrades as it chases down Mercedes
Formula 1Oscar Piastri on Monaco GP pitlane speed limiter issue: “Shouldn't be happening in Formula 1”
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