George Russell topped the opening practice session for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix for Mercedes, with Leonardo Fornaroli the best-placed rookie.
The Mercedes driver clocked a 1:16.363 to best Oscar Piastri by 0.203s with Charles Leclerc in third for Ferrari.
With a number of drivers, including Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris all stepping out for FP1 for rookie driver sessions, it was Norris’s replacement at McLaren, Fornaroli, who was the quickest.
He narrowly pipped Paul Aron, in for Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, with Hamilton’s replacement Dino Beganovic in eighth, with Fred Vesti 15th for Mercedes.
Colton Herta made his F1 weekend debut, placing 21st for Cadillac, whilst Luke Browning’s time for Williams was ruined by electrical problems – and he did not get out of the garage.
Check out the full results for Free Practice 1 at the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, below!