F1 – FORMULA One championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest for Mercedes in free practice at Madrid’s new Spanish Grand Prix circuit yesterday with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind.
Second in a first practice led by teammate George Russell, Antonelli then set the pace in a later session halted briefly by Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad becoming the first F1 driver to crash at the Madring and bring out red flags.
Antonelli’s best lap of one minute and 33.662 seconds was 0.113 quicker than Leclerc’s fastest effort. Seven-times champion Hamilton was 0.149 off the pace with Lindblad fourth despite the crash ending his session with 24 minutes to go.
The 19-year-old apologised after losing control of the rear of the car and smashing into the barriers sideways at Turn 13.
Russell, Antonelli’s closest title rival who led practice one with a time of 1:34.077, was fifth.
Leclerc and Hamilton had been third and fourth in the first session at a bright and sunny Madring, a challenging track that runs around the IFEMA exhibition centre near the capital’s Barajas airport.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen was sixth with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seventh and Racing Bulls’ stand-in Yuki Tsunoda eighth and Esteban Ocon ninth for Haas.
New Zealander Liam Lawson, standing in for injured French driver Isack Hadjar for the third race in a row, was 10th for Red Bull in both sessions.
McLaren’s reigning world champion Lando Norris missed the second session as the team changed his car’s gearbox.
l Formula One’s 2027 race calendar is likely to be published next week but a decision on this year’s season-ending Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix could slip to October, multiple paddock sources said yesterday.
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali said in July that the season will end in Europe if the Middle Eastern races cannot be held due to conflict in the region and set a mid-September deadline.
That would be after this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit but the sources told Reuters it was likely to be extended beyond September to allow as much time as possible for the November 29 and December 6 races.
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