Lando Norris was fastest in the first Practice session of the 2024 FIA World Championship Spanish Grand Prix weekend, edging out Drivers Championship leader, Max Verstappen.
As the green lights signalled the start of a triple header of European races to come, starting with Barcelona this weekend. Oracle Red Bull Racing will be hoping to get back to top form after a difficult few race weekends, despite getting the win in Montreal. The Milton Keynes based outfit have brought a big upgrade package this weekend, but so have Constructors Championship rivals, Scuderia Ferrari. Red Bull junior team, Visa Cash App RB have also brought a sizeable upgrade.
With the drivers getting more comfortable, the track was getting quicker, but the session was halted temporarily due to debris on track from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin Armaco F1 Team car. This small delay meant everyone came back out on different run plans – some opting for long runs and others on qualifying simulations.
Norris was the quickest at the chequered flag, with a time of 1:14.228s, which was around four tenths better than the quickest time in Free Practice One in 2023. Verstappen’s fastest time was only good enough for second, while Carlos Sainz Jr. ended the hour +0.344s back from his former teammate in third.
Photo: McLaren Media Centre
George Russell was the lead Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team car in fourth, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton was running a different programme to his teammate, finishing the hour in seventh.
Esteban Ocon looked quick during the open hour of practice, ending eighth. Alonso and Alex Albon rounded out the top ten. Charles Leclerc was eleventh quickest and quite a distance back from his Ferrari teammate.
Valtteri Bottas was once again the lead Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber car, finishing in twelfth, ahead of Zhou Guanyu in sixteenth. Bottas has a chance to out qualify his teammate for the thirteenth race in a row. Pierre Gasly was thirteenth, Lance Stroll was less than half a tenth behind in fourteenth.
Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda spent a large part of the session gathering data from their new significant upgrade package – neither driver used DRS on their qualifying runs. Ricciardo ended the hour in fifteenth, while Tsunoda was bottom of the order.
Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant were seventeenth and eighteenth, while Ollie Bearman, who took part in his second Free Practice One of the season finished in nineteenth.
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| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:14.228 | 27 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:14.252 | +0.024s | 27 |
| 3 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:14.572 | +0.344s | 31 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:14.614 | +0.386s | 31 |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:14.692 | +0.464s | 28 |
| 6 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:14.867 | +0.639s | 29 |
| 7 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:14.911 | +0.683s | 28 |
| 8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:15.086 | +0.858s | 30 |
| 9 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:15.222 | +0.994s | 26 |
| 10 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:15.417 | +1.189s | 25 |
| 11 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:15.434 | +1.206s | 26 |
| 12 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:15.472 | +1.244s | 24 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:15.484 | +1.256s | 21 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:15.512 | +1.284s | 28 |
| 15 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:15.580 | +1.352s | 30 |
| 16 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:15.616 | +1.388s | 24 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:15.644 | +1.416s | 30 |
| 18 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:15.752 | +1.524s | 25 |
| 19 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | HAAS FERRARI | 1:15.865 | +1.637s | 29 |
| 20 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:15.916 | +1.688s | 21 |