FP1: Norris sets the pace from Verstappen and Hamilton during first practice in Spain

Lando Norris topped the timesheets during Friday’s opening practice session ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, the McLaren driver extending his run at the top following his victory last weekend in Monaco to head the pack from Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.

A new name was the first to hit the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya when FP1 got underway in warm and sunny conditions at 1330 local time, as F2 driver Victor Martins made his Formula 1 weekend debut by heading out at the wheel of Alex Albon’s Williams.

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On a weekend in which a new Technical Directive has been introduced regarding front wing load tests, it proved to be a busy start to the session as most of the field hit the track within the first few minutes. The majority had bolted on the hard C1 tyres, Pirelli having brought the three hardest compounds in their range this weekend.

There was an early off for Ryo Hirakawa, the Haas reserve making a trip through the gravel during his second FP1 outing since joining the squad from Alpine in April. Elsewhere Liam Lawson voiced his unhappiness after encountering a slow-moving Charles Leclerc, prompting the Racing Bulls driver to ask: “What was that?”

Norris set the early pace during the first quarter of the session, the Briton recording a time of 1m 15.259s to go 0.221s clear of home favourite Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, a man whose last F1 victory came at this circuit in 2013.

Data gathering continued as the hour progressed, with plenty of laps going on the board across the field, while some drivers opted to switch tyres as they worked through their programmes. Mercedes’ George Russell was one of the first to swap to the medium C2 rubber before surging to the top of the timesheets on a 1m 14.751s at the halfway mark of the session.

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Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, became the first to run the soft C3 compound, with others soon following the Kick Sauber driver’s lead. One of these was Verstappen, who promptly went fastest only to be displaced by Norris moments later, the papaya car beating the Red Bull by three-tenths via an effort of 1m 13.718s.

There were some eye-catching additions to the top 10 during the final third of the hour, including the Racing Bulls of Lawson and Isack Hadjar – both of whom scored points last time out in Monaco – and the Haas of Ollie Bearman, the rookie in contrast searching for his first points since Bahrain this weekend.

While Alonso voiced some concerns about “something wrong” on his AMR25 – the Spaniard asking the team to “check what is going on with the car” – it was Norris who remained on top as the chequered flag fell, the Briton heading Verstappen and the Ferrari of Hamilton thanks to his aforementioned 1m 13.718s lap.

Leclerc put the other Scuderia car in fourth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth on a weekend where he will be looking to strengthen his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Lawson and Hadjar took sixth and eighth respectively, with Bearman sandwiched between them, while Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.

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Russell was P11 from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (P12), Alonso (P13), Hulkenberg (P14) and Williams’ Carlos Sainz (P15). Gabriel Bortoleto set the 16th quickest time for Kick Sauber, ahead of Hirakawa in 17th, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli down in 18th, Martins in 19th on his FP1 debut and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto in 20th place.

The drivers and teams will now reconvene in the paddock to examine their data and prepare for Friday’s second Free Practice session, which is due to get underway at 1700 local time.