George Russell finishes the very first practice on the new Madrid circuit as the fastest. The Brit drove a 1:34.077, which was just under three tenths faster than teammate Kimi Antonelli. Max Verstappen finished in fifth place with a 1:34.703.
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Where many drivers and analysts describe the Madring as a ‘car killer’, a major crash was absent during the first session. Most teams sent their cars out of the pit box early and let the drivers quickly get to know the track with longer runs on the medium tires. The times were sharpened by several seconds during the first ten minutes.
The biggest problem for the drivers was mainly traffic. Among others, Arvid Lindblad, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc were not happy with certain colleagues. Blocking wheels were also seen frequently during the session.
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📻 “I don’t think Lewis knew I was coming”
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton get a little too close for comfort #F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/U6dr1dbMag
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 11, 2026
At 5:00 PM the drivers will be back in action. Then the second and final free practice of the day starts. Tomorrow the real work begins. At 4:00 PM qualifying starts on the Madring, while on Sunday the race begins an hour earlier at 3:00 PM.
Read more First Free Practice (FP1) Results GP Spain 2026
Read everything about the Spanish GP here
