Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix FP1: George Russell fastest as rookies take over
F1 NewsFriday, 12 June 2026 at 14:30
George Russell topped FP1 for the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in a session where seven of the regular Formula 1 drivers handed their cars over to rookies.
Russell clocked a 1:16.363 to go fastest at the end of the session as Oscar Piastri was two tenths behind him in second place as Charles Leclerc was over have a second off the pace, third in the updated Ferrari.
Max Verstappen was fourth fastest in the Red Bull Racing, 0.684s off the pace and ahead of 2025 Formula 2 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli who was an impressive fifth as he replaced Lando Norris at McLaren.
The came another rookie. Paul Aron was sixth fastest for Audi, 0.958s off the pace and ahead of Liam Lawson who was seventh for Racing Bulls.
Dino Beganovic who replaced Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari was eighth fastest as Arvid Lindblad was ninth in the sister Racing Bulls with Franco Colapinto completing the top ten.
As for the rest of the rookies, Ayumu Iwasa was 14th fastest in the Red Bull after replacing Isack Hadjar while Frederik Vesti was 15th in the Mercedes as he replace Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli.
Colton Herta replaced Sergio Perez in the Cadillac and was 21st fastest while Luke Browning, in Alex Albon's Williams, didn't even make it out of the garage.
Buildup towards FP1
The 2026 F1 car return to the track were they made their first track debut back in January, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
After two tracks - Canada and Monaco - with specific requirements from the cars, racing this weekend happens at a track with a more conventional layout as it is known that a car that goes well in Barcelona will be fast everywhere.
So can we expect Mercedes to stamp their authority on the pecking order?
While all the teams brought some bits to their cars, it was only Ferrari who brought a massive upgrade to their SF-26.
The Scuderia brought a new front wing with revised endplates and new nose. They have a new floor body, floor edges, floor board, a new diffuser, as well as revised sidepods and cokeline.
In terms of tyres, Pirelli have the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft) tyres available this weekend.
FP1 Session Highlights
The session started in clear conditions with track temperatures at 49 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 29.
With the session started, drivers made their way out of the pitlane but soon Sainz found himself stranded in the pitlane with driver having to make their way around him.
"It's not switching on," Sainz radioed as Williams mechanics soon ran over to Sainz's car and pushed it back to the garage.
Problems for Carlos 😖
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2026
He's come to a halt at the end of the pit lane and is being pushed back to the Williams garage #F1 #BarcelonaGP pic.twitter.com/XAzZsp3v5K
Soon Piastri reported vibrations in his brakes as his team confirmed seeing it in the data but said there was nothing they could do about it before FP2, unless it was undrivable. The Aussie said it was ok.
Herta had a moment over the kerb at Turn 8 but kept it together. However, he asked the team to check the floor of the car.
Verstappen was not happy with his RB22 saying he was having understeer in some corners then oversteer in others.
Sainz's was sorted and he was back out on track with almost 45 minutes remaining.
Carlos Sainz is now out on track 👍
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2026
Luke Browning, in for Alex Albon this session, is still stuck in the garage though#F1 #BarcelonaGP pic.twitter.com/QPbeF01PUT
Lawson had a moment with Sainz in Turn 10. The Kiwi was on a flying lap while the Spaniard was leisurely driving around.
As the second half of the session began, Soft tyres starting appearing on cars after the Mediums were used at the start.
Beganovic had a moment in Turn 7 and reported that he had more power than he expected.
Bortoleto brought out the Yellow flags after going on a trip into the gravel at Turn 8 after his car snapped.
Bortoleto finds the gravel at Turn 8
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2026
He's now back in the pits checking for damage #F1 #BarcelonaGP pic.twitter.com/uUfwAuRHun
With less than 30 minutes remaining, Browning was still in the Williams garage with mechanics working on the car.
Gasly reported that something broke in the car and that he needed to box for checks. He suspected something in the suspension.
Four minutes to go and Pierre Gasly is back in the garage
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 12, 2026
Suspected suspension issues ending his session early#F1 #BarcelonaGP pic.twitter.com/Jxpp1CAPZu
Bortoleto radioed that he was struggling for grip just after going out of shape in Turn 1.
The session was concluded with practice starts.
Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix FP1 Classification
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