Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: The Verstappen dictatorship

This seventh appointment on the calendar is immensely important for a large number of teams, for whom the Barcelona circuit serves as the perfect laboratory to test improvements made to their cars. This is particularly the case for Mercedes, who will be able to test their new W14 package in conditions less specific than those in Monaco. Absent from the podium in Monaco, Ferrari is another team bringing new elements to their car in order to get closer to the Red Bull powerhouse.

This first free practice session was also an opportunity to get familiar with the new configuration of the Catalan circuit. The last chicane in the third sector has been removed to now showcase a high-speed final turn. In 2022, with the chicane, Charles Leclerc set a time of 1’18″750 to secure pole position. On his first attempt, Max Verstappen shattered this record by establishing a time of 1’17″425. A testament to how much faster the track has become following this change.

Red Bull very early in the rhythm

After 20 minutes of session, unsurprisingly, it was Max Verstappen who was leading the time sheet. The two-time world champion, with his 1’15″945, left his garage neighbor, Perez, half a second behind. Perez then left his closest pursuer, Carlos Sainz, with a similar gap. Despite his undisputed domination in the kingdom of lap times, the Dutchman was not entirely satisfied with his RB19. He particularly complained about bouncing in the last corner. A problem that George Russell and Sergio Perez had also raised during their attempts.

A little later in the session, the winged bulls adorned themselves with red-striped tires and raised the level of play even higher. With the soft tires, Verstappen improved his benchmark to set a 1’14″606. Sergio Perez was just under 8 tenths behind. After his nightmare weekend in Monaco, the Mexican must turn the tables and reaffirm himself as a serious contender for the world championship in Spain.

On a track like Barcelona, where competitive cars are on full display, Red Bull’s dominance during this first practice session was clear.

Ferraris in comparison

Frédéric Vasseur’s team has chosen the Spanish Grand Prix as their hunting ground to test these new parts. And in order to properly evaluate their efficiency, only one prancing horse will experiment with them. In this first free practice session, it was Carlos Sainz who benefited from the improvements while Charles Leclerc remained with the old version of the car. However, this did not prevent the Monegasque driver from finishing ahead of his teammate in this first session.

Alpine the second force?

After his surprise podium in Monaco, Esteban Ocon did not hide his ambitions approaching the Spanish Grand Prix. The native of Evreux believed that the improvements made by his team could allow the French clan to be on par with Ferrari and Mercedes. The blue and pink cars showed very good speed during the FP1. Ocon concluded it with the 3rd best time, 8 tenths behind Verstappen, while Gasly was 5th, 9 tenths behind. Facing struggling Mercedes and discreet Aston Martins, Alpine could once again use the rain to their advantage on Sunday to bring back big points.

FP1 Table