F1 Today | Mercedes rules Madrid as feared Madring chaos fails to materialise

Mercedes emerged as the team to beat on Formula 1's first day of running at the new Madring circuit, topping both Friday practice sessions in the Spanish capital. George Russell led the way in the first-ever F1 practice session at the venue with a 1:34.077, ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli, while Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton followed in third and fourth respectively. Max Verstappen ended FP1 in fifth, more than six tenths behind Russell, with Lando Norris sixth and Oscar Piastri eighth.

Despite concerns raised by several drivers about the circuit during media day, as well as incidents in the feeder series, the opening session passed without any crashes and with few yellow flags, although there were some cases of impeding.

With Leclerc and Hamilton the only drivers to have previously driven at the Madring, the opening stages of FP1 were largely about learning the new circuit. Most of the field began on the medium tyres, with Gabriel Bortoleto the exception on the hard compound, as Hamilton initially set the pace with a 1:36.0 before improving to a 1:34.8.

Leclerc then moved ahead with a 1:34.6 as the Ferrari pair traded fastest laps, while the two Audis were the only cars not completing their early flying laps on the mediums. Mercedes and Liam Lawson were the first to switch to soft tyres around the halfway point, and Russell subsequently took control of the session, initially posting a 1:34.1 before lowering the benchmark to a 1:34.077, a time that remained unbeaten.

Mercedes carried that strong form straight into FP2, with Antonelli immediately setting a 1:34.4 on the medium tyres and opening up almost a one-second advantage over the rest of the field. Russell soon moved into second, two tenths behind his team-mate, with both Mercedes drivers particularly strong in the final sector.

Ferrari responded through Leclerc, who moved to within one thousandth of Antonelli, before Verstappen joined the fight after 15 minutes by setting a 1:34.378, 50 thousandths clear of the Italian. Hamilton was also in contention for the fastest time but lost ground with a lock-up in the third sector. Verstappen's spell at the top proved brief, as Antonelli hit back with a 1:33.926, the first sub-1:34 lap of the session, with Russell just 99 thousandths behind. Verstappen's previous lap was then deleted for track limits.

The order shifted again when the field moved onto the soft tyres for the proper qualifying simulations. Leclerc was the first to make his attempt count, setting a 1:33.820 to move one tenth clear of Antonelli, while Arvid Lindblad impressed by climbing to second, only 80 thousandths away from the Ferrari driver.

Antonelli soon responded with a 1:33.652 to reclaim first place, while Hamilton moved into second, around a tenth and a half behind and just nine thousandths ahead of Leclerc. The Monegasque then improved again to move back ahead of his team-mate and within 113 thousandths of Antonelli, leaving Mercedes and Ferrari closely matched at the front as the session entered its final half-hour.

FP2 was then interrupted with 24 minutes remaining when Lindblad lost control at Turn 13 and crashed heavily into the barriers, becoming the first driver to have a major accident at the new circuit over the Formula 1 weekend. His Racing Bulls was badly damaged, prompting race control to bring out the first red flag of the weekend while recovery crews safely removed the car.

The stoppage lasted around 10 minutes before the field returned to the track for the final 10 minutes of running, with attention turning towards race simulations. The heavy traffic around the Madring made it difficult for the drivers to put together long, uninterrupted stints, bringing an eventful first day of Formula 1 running at the new Madrid venue to a close with Mercedes having topped both sessions.