George Russell Tops Opening Practice at Madrid GP
George Russell struck the first blow of the Madrid weekend, topping opening practice at the brand-new Madring and edging Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli in a statement start to the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Briton, stung by defeat to Antonelli at Monza last Sunday, answered immediately. On the soft tyres, Russell’s 0.286s advantage over the Italian set an early benchmark on a circuit still coated in dust and mystery.
Mercedes set the pace, Ferrari lurk
The timesheets told one story, the tyre compounds another. While both Mercedes drivers leaned on the softs for their quickest laps, Ferrari kept their powder relatively dry early on.
On the mediums, Ferrari sat only about half a second off Russell’s best, hinting at deeper pace. As the track rubbered in, Charles Leclerc – cleared to race despite suffering blurred vision after his huge Monza crash – finally bolted on softs and climbed to third.
Lewis Hamilton, by contrast, logged his best lap on the mediums and ended the hour down the order, but his pace was only half the tale of his session.
Hamilton at the centre of traffic storm
The Madring’s tight confines and high-speed sweeps produced what many feared: traffic chaos. Hamilton found himself right at the eye of it.
At least four drivers complained over team radio about the seven-time world champion impeding them, with several laps ruined as cars stacked up in the most committed sections of the track.
Arvid Lindblad’s frustration boiled over first. The Racing Bulls rookie branded both Hamilton and Antonelli “stupid” after feeling blocked at the daunting, banked Turn 12.
He wasn’t alone. Leclerc, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Williams’ Carlos Sainz all had to abandon flying laps when they came across a slow-moving Hamilton.
Sainz’s anger crackled over the radio after his own Turn 12 incident: “Lewis letting by in the middle of Turn 12. It’s always the same, it’s so dangerous!
“Like it takes zero effort to be two metres more left. Zero effort!”
On a day when drivers were still learning the lines, the Madring already showed how brutal it will be on anyone out of sync with the flow.
New track, no red flags – and a clear pecking order emerging
The build-up to the weekend carried a warning. A recent two-day Formula 3 test at the same venue needed 19 red flags, fuelling fears that F1’s first taste of Madrid might be stop-start and scrappy.
Instead, all 22 drivers kept their cars out of the barriers in first practice. No red flags, no major offs, just a rapidly evolving track that rewarded those who adapted quickest.
Mercedes and Ferrari did exactly that. Lap by lap, grip came to them, and by the end of the session they looked the most comfortable of the frontrunners on both compounds.
“I’m really impressed with the way they approached this brand new circuit,” said Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson. “They made it look easy really – which they often do.”
Verstappen, Norris and a rookie on the rise
Behind the Mercedes–Ferrari scrap, Max Verstappen quietly banked fifth for Red Bull. Lando Norris slotted in just behind for McLaren, both close enough to stay in the conversation if overnight tweaks unlock more performance.
The standout name, though, sat in seventh. Rookie Arvid Lindblad, on a circuit ready to punish inexperience, delivered an eye-catching lap for Racing Bulls to plant himself in the top 10 and underline why he’s so highly rated.
Audi also signalled intent. Nico Hulkenberg’s ninth place, backed up by Gabriel Bortoleto in 11th, suggested the car has genuine pace around the Madring’s mix of banking, sweeps and slow corners. Between them, Red Bull’s Liam Lawson grabbed 10th, keeping both factory and junior teams in the thick of the upper midfield.
As the sun dips and the grip comes up, the picture will sharpen. For now, Russell has landed the opening punch, Antonelli is already looming in his mirrors, and a brand-new circuit has made one thing very clear: anyone out of position here will pay for it at Turn 12.
