Mercedes lead the way in FP1 in Madrid with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli separated by two tenths.
It was an adventure into the unknown as we saw cars on track for the first time at the brand new Madring circuit. The field used this session to get up to speed on the track. While some were pushing the limits more than others. Despite the precarious nature of the track, it was a clean session for everyone.
MADRING in the Flesh
A brand new track welcomes the grid this weekend as we visit the Madring of the first time. No driver or team has ever put in a lap around this configuration which should make for an interesting weekend.As the session progressed, we saw drivers getting used to the Madring and the times started to tumble.
This track brings unique challenges to the drivers with 22 corners, close walls and no prior experience of the track. There are big braking zones, fast sweepers and the already famous Turn 12, La Monumental. This unique corner has the longest banked on the calendar. At 550 metres long with 13.5 degrees of banking, it is expected to be a flat out corner throughout the weekend. Withhe opportunity for different racing lines through La Monumental and the tight walls nearby, it could be a spot to watch for action.
Getting Up To Speed
As expected for a brand new track, times tumbled the whole session as drivers gained confidence. In the opening minutes we saw laps around the 1:40.0 mark. The times quickly tumbled. The Ferrari duo led the way to bring the times down to a 1:34.683 before the halfway mark.
The Madring is tight and twisty which naturally led to some traffic issues throughout the session. With little space to get out of the way this could play a factor in qualifying. In particular we saw repeated issues for Lewis Hamilton. The seven time World Champion wasn’t receiving the adequate communication from his race engineer. Although these issues can be more common with an unfamiliar track, this will have to be worked on before qualifying or penalties could come in to play.
Tricky Corners
It was an overall clean session for the grid wth only some small issues to work out. With multiple heavy braking zones around the track, many drivers experienced tight lock ups. We saw this displayed by Charles Leclerc as a lock up at Turn 17 nearly took him straight to the wall.
Turn 5 and 6 also offered some issues as expected. The chicane is reminiscent of the Singapore Sling from the old Marina Bay layout. The high speed and high kerbs duo could have massive consequences for small mistakes. We saw a few drivers misjudging their speed and skipping over the chicane but got away with it in this session.
We could also see some track limit issues throughout the weekend. Turn 18 and 19 give drivers the opportunity to run over kerbs for the fastest line but could cause issues in qualifying. There were multiple deleted laps throughout this session which will have to be worked on for qualifying tomorrow.
Checkered Flag on First Practice
Unsurprisingly, it was a strong session for Mercedes as George Russell led the way and Kimi Antonelli close behind. After a slower start to the session Russell took back the top spot with 20 minutes remaining. It seems we might see round two of their battle from last weekend if this continues through the weekend.
Ferrari were quickly up to speed as they brought the times down to a 1:34 just 20 minutes into the session. There were a few moments for both drivers as they pushed the limits and a lock up nearly taking Charles Leclerc to the wall but they got away with it in this session.
Further down it was a quiet session for McLaren and Red Bull as they took it a little easier throughout the session. Max Verstappen came home in P5 and Liam Lawson in P10. It was an encouraging start to the season for Lawson as he seemed to get up to speed quicker than Verstappen. The Kiwi led the team for most of the session but did report the car was difficult to drive towards the end. We will have to wait and see if he can continue a strong performance throughout the weekend.
In the midfield, Racing Bulls and Audi seem to be the standouts so far. Arvid Lindblad had a strong session finishing in P7 and 0.956s behind Russell. Yuki Tsunoda suffered an interrupted session as he suffered a power steering issue and missed the last 20 minutes. Racing Bulls commented they should have this resolved for FP2. However, this might put him behind the field as he’s missed out on crucial track time so we will wait to see if he can get up to Lindblads pace.
Audi really pushed the limits throughout the session and we saw multiple lock-ups and off road moments from both drivers. They got up to speed very early in the session and finished in P9 and P11 with Hulkenberg leading.
Formula One will return for FP2 at 17:00 track time later today.
Image Credit: Formula One via X