F1 Spanish GP: George Russell tops FP1 as Lewis Hamilton impedes several drivers - Motorsport.com
George Russell secured the fastest time in the first practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix at a new track in Madrid. The session saw competitive lap times from Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, despite some traffic issues caused by Lewis Hamilton.
Why it matters
Formula 1 continues to expand its global footprint with new venues, impacting team performance and race strategy.
Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in the first-ever Formula 1 session at the brand-new Madring track – Free Practice 1 for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Twenty out of 22 cars took to the brand-new track within the first 100 seconds of the session, with Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto emerging some time later.
The very first flying laps were somewhat tentative with most drivers in the 1m42s-1m45s bracket, but Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris lapped in 1m39s straight away.
Lap times kept tumbling in the opening part of the session, with Hamilton down to a 1m36.066s within just eight minutes. Consistently faster than anyone, the Ferrari driver successively improved the benchmark to 1m35.563s and 1m34.803s. Team-mate Charles Leclerc did go 0.120s quicker, but Hamilton narrowly snatched the top spot back in 1m34.620s.
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