Russell leads Mercedes one-two in Madrid's first Spanish Grand Prix practice

George Russell led a Mercedes one-two in opening practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Formula 1's new Madrid circuit, finishing 0.286 seconds ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli. BBC Sport reported that the first session at the Madring passed without anyone damaging a car, despite pre-session concerns from Russell about the consequences of mistakes at the venue.

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Charles Leclerc was third for Ferrari, 0.459 seconds behind Russell and narrowly ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen placed fifth for Red Bull, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris. Arvid Lindblad, Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson completed the top 10 as drivers ran at the street-circuit-style track built around an exhibition centre near Madrid's airport.

The order changed as teams moved through their tyre programmes. Ferrari had been quickest on the medium compound during the first part of Friday's session, but could not match Mercedes when running the soft tyres. Russell and Antonelli therefore ended the opening practice ahead of both Ferraris, with Leclerc the closest challenger to the leading Mercedes.

Speaking a couple of hours before practice, Russell had compared the challenge with Monaco. He said that although Monaco's walls are closer, its lower speeds can sometimes give drivers time to recover from a small lock-up. At Madrid, he pointed to fast corners where barriers angle back towards the track, limiting the space available when a car runs wide.

Russell identified Turns Five, Seven and 17 as particular concerns. He also described three corners where drivers brake while turning, with a wall directly ahead if a wheel locks, drawing a comparison with Turn 15 in Baku. A separate sequence of fast changes of direction reminded him of the Jeddah street circuit in Saudi Arabia.

Practice itself brought some contact with the walls but no resulting car damage, according to the BBC report. Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso were among those who brushed a barrier, while Leclerc used the run-off area at Turn 17. Russell's warnings about the circuit's limited recovery space thus preceded an opening session that remained free of damaging incidents.