George Russell hits back in Barcelona as title rival Antonelli watches on

George Russell bounced back from his Monaco disappointment to dominate Friday’s first practice at the Barcelona Grand Prix, but it was a session that didn’t feature his teammate and champion rival Kimi Antonelli.

Russell set the pace with a 1:16.363, finishing two-tenths up on Oscar Piastri, while Charles Leclerc was third fastest.

George Russell leads Barcelona FP1 as Kimi Antonelli sits out

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The Formula 1 teams arrived at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with seven of the 11 having announced a young driver session.

Colton Herta and Leonardo Fornaroli were making their FP1 debuts, although the latter, driving for McLaren, had already experienced F1 cars in a TPC programme. For Herta, Friday’s run was something completely new.

There was a problem for Carlos Sainz as he came to a stop in the fast lane of the pit lane, forcing those who lined up behind him to swerve around him. His Williams mechanics pushed him back to the garage.

He was, however, out on the track just a few minutes later amidst reports it was a steering wheel issue.

His teammate for the session, Luke Browning, was stuck in the garage as mechanics worked on the car. Williams team principal James Vowles called it a “small electrical issue”.

Oscar Piastri reported that his brakes were vibrating, but was told by his race engineer Tom Stallard that there was nothing the team could do until after the session.

On the track, George Russell was quickest ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. The latter was running Carbone Industries brake pads and discs for the first time at a Grand Prix weekend after his Monaco brake struggles.

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Herta had a big moment in the Cadillac as he went wide over the kerb at Turn 8 and put wheels in the gravel. He did well to hang onto the car, before calmly telling Cadillac to “check the floor”.

Sixth fastest behind the two Racing Bull teammates, Max Verstappen complained about his Red Bull RB22’s handling. “One corner I have understeer, then oversteer, I have everything. It’s just horrendous.” He also reported “insane” tyre degradation.

Lawson also wasn’t happy, but that was with traffic and not his car. He came up behind Sainz and complained about drivers being in the “middle of the track”.

Frederik Vesti, driving Kimi Antonelli’s W17, improved to fifth place while Gabriel Bortoleto had a big off through the gravel on the way up to Turn 9.

Having swapped to the soft Pirellis, Verstappen overhauled Russell at the front with a 1:17.047. Russell regained it minutes later when he swapped tyres, seven-tenths faster than Verstappen.

Piastri and Leclerc also overhauled Verstappen to sit second and third head into the final 10 minutes of the session. Paul Aron in the Audi was P5.

Pierre Gasly ran into a late problem as he told Alpine that “something has broken” and that he “couldn’t turn”. He added that it was something on the suspension.

The session ended with Russell quickest ahead of Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Fornaroli and Aron. Lawson, Bino Beganovic, Lindblad and Franco Colapinto completed the top ten.

Unfortunately for Browning, he did not get out of the garage.

“A disappointing end to the session for Luke and the team as we continue to investigate an electrical issue on Alex’s FW48,” said Williams. “Luke’s open print session has been rescheduled to the Austrian Grand Prix where he will drive Carlos’ FW48 in FP1.”

Barcelona Grand Prix: FP1 times

1 Russell 1:16.363
2 Piastri 1:16.566
3 Leclerc 1:16.883
4 Verstappen 1:17.047
5 Fornaroli 1:17.216
6 Aron 1:17.321
7 Lawson 1:17.472
8 Beganovic 1:17.778
9 Lindblad 1:17.804
10 Colapinto 1:17.893

The full result from FP1 at the Barcelona Grand Prix

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