McLaren’s Lando Norris opened Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix weekend atop the timesheets after leading the way during first practice.
Norris, fresh from victory in Monaco five days ago, posted a time of 1:13.718s in hot and sunny conditions at the high-speed Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Norris’ time put him a sizeable 0.367s clear of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, who has won the last three editions of the Spanish Grand Prix.
It was the first track activity to take place since the tighter deflection stress tests on front wings, imposed pre-season by the FIA, came into regulatory effect.
Ferrari finished in third and fourth respectively, with Lewis Hamilton ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, while championship leader Oscar Piastri classified fifth for McLaren.
Racing Bulls continued its encouraging pace from Monaco as Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar took sixth and eighth respectively, bookending Haas’ Ollie Bearman.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
George Russell finished in 11th as he set his best time on the Medium tyres, rather than the Softs employed by the front-runners, with a similar tyre tactic adopted by Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who was 18th.
Aston Martin finished with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso in 12th and 13th, though Alonso cut short his running amid complaints that there was an engine problem with the AMR25, urging the team to investigate.
Sauber duo Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were 14th and 16th, either side of Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa returned to the VF-25 for his second of four planned practice outings with the squad this year.
Hirakawa, who had an early trip through the gravel at Turn 10, finished the session in 17th place, with his best lap seven-tenths of a second slower than regular racer Bearman.
The other non-race driver in action was Formula 2 front-runner Victor Martins.
Martins, who has participated in TPCs with Williams this year, replaced Alex Albon in the FW47, marking his grand prix weekend debut.
Martins finished the session in 19th place, leaving Alpine’s Franco Colapinto at the foot of the field.
