FP1 in Spain still sees Lando Norris and McLaren at the top of the standings. The new technical directive introduced by the FIA on the flexibility of the front wings is the protagonist of the first free practice sessions. From a performance point of view, however, no substantial changes seem to have emerged. Mercedes are doing badly, suffering a lot from tyre degradation during their race simulations. On the contrary, the opposite is true for Ferrari, which performed well on race pace with both drivers.
The new technical directive is the star of FP1 in Spain
FP1 begins in Spain at 13pm local time, the teams begin their first studies on the new front wings built on the basis of the technical directive TD018. Some cars are showing up on the track with rakes placed between the cockpit and the front tyres, with the aim of checking the aerodynamic effects that the new wings adopted will have. The only teams that have not brought new spoilers are Mercedes and McLaren, as they have already been tested in Monaco and Imola respectively.
On the track Esteban Ocon is not there. In FP1 here in Spain he takes his place Ryo Hirakawa, who has already been seen driving a Formula 1 this year in free practice in Bahrain, again with Haas, and Suzuka, with Alpine. The Japanese driver, in the first ten minutes, is the protagonist of an excursion into the sand, only to then immediately return to the track. It is not the only substitution among the Hirakawa starting ranks: in Williams Alexander albon he left his seat at Victor martins, Formula 2 driver for Art Grand Prix. Furthermore, this is his absolute debut within a Formula 1 weekend.
After twenty minutes, the young French driver managed to set his first time in these FP1 in Spain, using hard tyres and positioning himself in twentieth position. At the top of the ranking, however, we find Lando Norris, always on hard tyres. Behind him, with almost half an hour to go, there is Fernando Alonso, which will try to exploit the steps forward made by Aston Martin to finally find his first world championship points in this 2025 season. More slowly, instead, is trying to reach his teammate Oscar piastri, who, at half-time, is still in sixth position.
Not just front wings: steel skids are also being tested
In addition to Fernando Alonso, who has to find their way again are the two Mercedes drivers who, compared to the first Grand Prix, have collected very few points between Imola and the much more unfortunate Monaco. With thirty minutes to go, George Russell sets the fastest time of the day on medium tyres. The Englishman, among other things, has opted for a different test program than his opponents. Eight laps first on hard tyres, then switching to the medium ones on which he is currently running.
In these FP1 in Spain, however, the other drivers went from a short race pace simulation with yellow tyres, and then use the soft compound, so as to try the qualifying pace. The result, however, does not change. The fastest on the softest compound remains Lando Norris, with Verstappen and the two Ferrari more than three tenths apart. In addition, the two reds are also testing a new rear wing. The latter comes from some configurations used last year and should guarantee the two drivers a medium-high aerodynamic load. In these FP1 in Spain, then, the front wings are not the only novelty that all the cars have in common.
The FIA, as also explains Motorsport, asked the teams to try during free practice of the new skids (the skates under the floor of the car) steel. Titanium, the usual material used to build this piece, causes incandescent sparks that could then set fire to the grass on the sides of the track. In short, a test, on which many teams are already turning up their noses due to additional costs and consumption, designed in the name of safety.
Norris ahead of everyone at the end of the session, but good pace for Leclerc
The last ten minutes are used by the teams for mini long runs on different compounds. Meanwhile in the pits, Max Verstappen is stuck in the pits, with the mechanics working on the rear of his car. An unexpected event that, for various reasons and yet to be deciphered, also affected the very unlucky Fernando Alonso. The two Mercedes are in trouble. Russell, always on the track with medium tyres, complained about excessive wear on the front tyres. The Two Silver Arrowsor, after the first ten laps of simulations, they seem to suffer a lot from degradation.
Hamilton, in the pace on hard tires, is not negative but often finds himself having to deal with changes of a few tenths between one lap and the next. He will therefore have to work further to obtain a better balance on his car. Interesting, however, is the comparison between McLaren and Ferrari. Norris, Piastri and Leclerc are running on red tires. The Ferrari driver shows a really excellent race pace compared to the papaya team. Verstappen, once back on track, is running at the same times.
At least for the absolute times, however, the music doesn't change. Norris sets the best time with a 1:13.718. On race pace, however, McLaren, Ferrari and, even though he tried a race pace on very few laps, Max Verstappen, are very close on times. Bad, on the other hand, Mercedes, which seems to have collapsed in times towards the end of the session as regards the race pace simulations.
