Kimi Antonelli led the way after free practice for this year’s Spanish Grand Prix, which is being held at the Madring for the very first time. A unique venue that is part street circuit and part permanent racing facility, the track therefore poses a fresh challenge for the entire grid.
As a result, the three practice sessions saw plenty of incidents. Antonelli locked up at turn three in FP1 and later obstructed Cadillac’s Sergio Perez in FP2. Even so, the championship leader was consistently on the pace and set a final time of 1m32.797 in FP3. With his championship lead now at 66 points, Antonelli can afford to prioritise solid results over and above commanding wins.
Charles Leclerc took the runner-up spot in the final session, despite another close call with his teammate Lewis Hamilton in FP1 and a wayward moment at the turn five chicane in FP2 (a section that also caught out Nico Hulkenberg and Oscar Piastri). Leclerc set the second-fastest time by the session’s end. Having accepted blame for the turn one skirmish with Hamilton at Monza, a race he failed to finish, Leclerc is in desperate need of a good result in Spain.
Piastri has been unable to match his teammate as of late. Despite a couple of close calls, the McLaren driver found some much-needed pace in FP3 and secured the third-fastest time ahead of Norris (whose FP2 was curtailed with mechanical issues).
Max Verstappen reported steering issues in FP2 but generally had a trouble-free run to fifth ahead of George Russell. With the injured Isack Hadjar still on the sidelines, Liam Lawson has got a shot with the main Red Bull team. Should he make the start of Sunday’s race, Lawson will amusingly have contested more races for Red Bull as a super sub than he did as a full-time driver at the start of 2025. He also ran largely without incident and finished FP3 tenth, ahead of Hulkenberg and Hamilton. The seven-time world champion suffered a major crash at the final corner in FP3. The incident halted proceedings and disrupted the rest of the field’s session plans.
Bortoleto was one of many drivers to cut the turn five chicane (a section likely to cause trouble in the race) and ended FP3 with the 10th-fastest time. He was followed by Franco Colalpinto and Esteban Ocon, who had the unique distinction of being the very first driver to take to the Madring in an official session. His teammate Ollie Bearman was another high-profile casualty; the Haas driver crashed heavily at turn 10 in FP3.
Arvid Lindblad also found the barriers at turn 13 early in FP2 but still managed to end the final session ahead of his temporary teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Pierre Gasly ended the final session 16th ahead of local hero Fernando Alonso, who survived a close shave with the barriers at turn eight.
Carlos Sainz is likely to have the highest concentration of home support this weekend. Having been born in Madrid and started his karting career in the region, the four-time race winner has a grandstand named in his honour. Williams has also marked the occasion with a special livery inspired by the title-winning cars of the early 1980s. Sainz was inadvertently impeded by Hamilton in FP2 but avoided any major drama and ended FP3 18th, ahead of Lance Stroll, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.
Initial signs point to Mercedes and McLaren being the strongest contenders this weekend. However, with Verstappen having a consistent run and Ferrari in search of an upset, the Formula 1 World Championship’s first-ever visit to the Madring looks set to be an absorbing one.
