Spanish GP - Free Practice

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Aramco Spanish GP

Free Practice 1

June 21, 2024

Lando Norris from McLaren set the fastest lap in the first practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull's three-time Formula One world champion, Max Verstappen.

The British driver, who won the Miami Grand Prix in May, recorded the quickest time around the sun-drenched Circuit de Catalunya, clocking in at one minute 14.228 seconds on soft tyres. This was 0.024 seconds faster than Verstappen, who faced issues with his clutch going into anti-stall mode.

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari posted the third-best time while driving on medium tyres, equipped with a full upgrade package, ahead of his final home race with Ferrari. This race also marks the beginning of a series of three consecutive race weekends.

Sergio Pérez, Verstappen's teammate, who is set to serve a three-place grid penalty on Sunday from an incident in Canada, was fifth fastest. He was behind George Russell of Mercedes and ahead of Oscar Piastri from McLaren, who secured the sixth spot.

Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion from Mercedes, finished the session with the seventh-fastest time.

The times set in this session were quicker compared to last year's first free practice best of 1:14.606, a session in which the then-dominant Red Bulls were first and second, with Verstappen leading Pérez by a substantial 0.768 seconds.

The competition at the top has tightened significantly since last year, with four different teams occupying the top four positions in Friday's session and just 0.683 seconds separating Norris and Hamilton.

So far this season, three different teams and four drivers have claimed victories, and Verstappen, aiming for his third consecutive win at the Spanish GP, is facing tougher competition, despite holding a 56-point lead over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the championship standings.

"I think you have four teams that are on top of each other and as always it will be about execution," Zak Brown, McLaren's team principal.

"Everyone knows this track. We test here a lot, so this weekend will show us how things might look like for the rest of the year."

While McLaren has not introduced any major upgrades for their car, Ferrari has brought seven new components, including modifications to the car's floor and diffuser.

Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, managed only the 11th fastest time and reported clutch problems with just 10 minutes left in the session. He was behind Esteban Ocon of Alpine, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, and Alex Albon of Williams, who completed the top 10.

Leclerc expressed his frustration, stating, "The car is horrendous for now," referring to the performance of his Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Oliver Bearman from Britain, who is considered a potential candidate for a race seat next season, took over from Nico Hülkenberg at Haas for the session. He completed 29 laps, finishing in 19th place, with his teammate Kevin Magnussen in 17th.

The practice session was briefly stopped with 22 minutes remaining after a piece of Fernando Alonso's front wing came off at turn nine.

There was also a close call involving George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull, with Tsunoda nearly colliding with the back of Russell's Mercedes.

Commenting on the incident, Russell said over the team radio: "Don't know what Tsunoda was doing there," "I pulled to the right and he just aimed for me."

Free Practice 2

June 21, 2024

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes led the practice sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz of Ferrari coming in second in front of his home crowd at the Circuit de Catalunya. The competition was tight among four teams.

In the first practice, McLaren's Lando Norris was the fastest, just 0.024 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Norris finished third in the second session, where Verstappen dropped to fifth while on slower medium tires compared to others on softs. Pierre Gasly of Alpine surprisingly took fourth place and Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was sixth.

Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, posted the best time of 1:13.264, edging out Sainz by 0.022 seconds after Norris topped FP1 with a 1:14.228 lap.

On the initial practice timesheets, Sainz secured the third position as Formula One gets ready for a series of three races scheduled on consecutive weekends.

Meanwhile, Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who will face a three-place grid penalty on Sunday from Canada, finished in fifth and 13th places in the sessions.

George Russell from Mercedes claimed the eighth spot in the second session, closely followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Last year's first free practice saw the Red Bulls dominating with lap times of 1:14.606, where Verstappen was 0.768 seconds faster than Perez. In the 2023 second session, Verstappen set a time of 1:13.907.

Since then, the competition at the top has intensified, with five teams occupying the top five positions in Friday's second session, compared to four teams earlier in the day.

In the second practice, Hamilton was 0.660 seconds behind Bottas in 10th place, while Norris was only 0.683 seconds adrift of Hamilton in seventh place during the first session.

"All in all a good start to the weekend...I'm sure it's going to be close again, like it was in Canada,"

Norris expressed his anticipation for Saturday's qualifying.

This season, three teams and four drivers have already achieved victories. Verstappen, aiming for his third consecutive win at the Spanish GP, is expected to face a tougher challenge, despite holding a 56-point lead over Leclerc in the drivers' standings.

"I think you have four teams that are on top of each other and as always it will be about

execution," Zak Brown, the McLaren team principal.

"Everyone knows this track. We test here a lot, so this weekend will show us how things might look like for the rest of the year."

Despite McLaren not introducing any significant upgrades to their car, Ferrari has unveiled seven new components, including modifications to the floor and diffuser.

Oliver Bearman from Britain, who is being considered for a race seat next season, took over Nico Hulkenberg's place at Haas during the first session. Bearman completed 29 laps and finished 19th, while Kevin Magnussen secured 17th position.

The session was briefly interrupted with 22 minutes remaining when Alonso's car lost a part of its front wing at turn nine.

There was a close call between Russell and Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, with the latter almost colliding with the rear of the Mercedes.

"Don't know what Tsunoda was doing there," Russell spoke on the radio. "I pulled to the right and he just aimed for me."

Free Practice 3

June 22, 2024

Carlos Sainz was the fastest in the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Lando Norris coming in second for McLaren. The close practice saw several clashes between drivers, keeping stewards busy after the session.

Sainz clocked a time of one minute 13.013 seconds, just 0.030 seconds ahead of Norris. Norris had a dramatic morning with a fire in McLaren's paddock unit, leading to the evacuation of staff before hitting the track.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari finished third, only 0.007 seconds slower than Norris. Towards the end of the session, Leclerc made contact with Norris, seemingly frustrated by the delay caused by the incident.

"He just drove into me. I think I have got damage," Norris stated over the radio. Both were due to meet with stewards following the session.

Max Verstappen, the triple world champion of Red Bull, came in fourth place, just 0.074 seconds behind Sainz.

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who had topped the charts on Friday, finished fifth and sixth respectively, while Sergio Perez of Red Bull secured the seventh spot.

Additionally, stewards were looking into a collision between Hamilton and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.

"This guy thinks he is alone on track," Stroll was furious with Hamilton.

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