George Russell, Mercedes, Miami International Autodrome, 2026, cockpit

George Russell started the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend in strong shape, leading the times for Mercedes.

His team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli was one of seven regular drivers who did not participate in the session. Their teams all used the opportunity to run an experienced driver, as they are required to by the rules twice per car over the course of the season.

Oscar Piastri was second-fastest for McLaren, just two tenths of a second slower than Russell. The other McLaren was driven by Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, who impressively put his MCL40 fifth on his debut in an official practice session. Lando Norris will take over the car for second practice.

The two McLarens were separated by Charles Leclerc, half a second off the pace in a heavily updated Ferrari, and Max Verstappen, running a new power unit following the failure which struck him in Monaco.

Paul Aron returned to drive for Audi, as he did last year when they were known as Sauber, and put Nico Hulkenberg’s car sixth in the times. Regular driver Gabriel Bortoleto had an off-track excursion at turn eight on his way to 12th in the team’s other car.

The Racing Bulls duo ended the session inside the top 10, separated by the second Ferrari, driven by Dino Beganovic. Franco Colapinto was 10th for Alpine while Pierre Gasly reported “something is broken” on his car as he headed to the pits shortly before the session ended.

Carlos Sainz Jnr had to swap steering wheels soon after the session began but at least got further than Luke Browning did in the other Williams. He never left the garage, and his non-participation in the session means Williams will have to allocate another race weekend to run one of their junior drivers.

Colton Herta made his long-awaited first appearance in an F1 session for Cadillac and caught a major snap when he ran wide at turn eight. He ended the session last of those who set times, 1.7 seconds behind team mate Valtteri Bottas.

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2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix first practice result

P.#DriverTeamModelTimeGapLaps
163George RussellMercedesW171’16.36327
281Oscar PiastriMcLaren-MercedesMCL401’16.5660.20329
316Charles LeclercFerrariSF-261’16.8830.52029
43Max VerstappenRed Bull-Red Bull-FordRB221’17.0470.68429
567Leonardo FornaroliMcLaren-MercedesMCL401’17.2160.85322
697Paul AronAudiR261’17.3210.95824
730Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford031’17.4721.10924
838Dino BeganovicFerrariSF-261’17.7781.41530
941Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford031’17.8041.44129
1043Franco ColapintoAlpine-MercedesA5261’17.8931.53028
1187Oliver BearmanHaas-FerrariVF-261’18.1721.80925
125Gabriel BortoletoAudiR261’18.2091.84628
1355Carlos Sainz JnrWilliams-MercedesFW481’18.2931.93027
1436Ayumu IwasaRed Bull-Red Bull-FordRB221’18.2981.93521
1572Frederik VestiMercedesW171’18.3652.00228
1631Esteban OconHaas-FerrariVF-261’18.3722.00927
1710Pierre GaslyAlpine-MercedesA5261’18.5082.14523
1877Valtteri BottasCadillac-FerrariMAC-261’18.9142.55123
1914Fernando AlonsoAston Martin-HondaAMR261’20.0673.70423
2018Lance StrollAston Martin-HondaAMR261’20.3183.95521
2125Colton HertaCadillac-FerrariMAC-261’20.6974.33427

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2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine