17:02
I'll point it out one time - Lance Stroll is 4.033s off the pace. Let's just leave that there as Aston Martin know the massive problems they need to solve.
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
F1 Barcelona GP Friday practice as it happened
Live coverage of Friday at the F1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Gasly reinstated to Monaco GP podium
- Russell topped FP1
- Seven rookies featured in FP1
The seventh round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
There is perhaps no track on the F1 calendar better known to the drivers that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the pre-pre-season behind-closed-doors test having taken place at the Spanish venue earlier this year, and endless tests having taken place on the circuit across the years.
With long straights and several major braking zones, overtaking is certainly possible on the 4.65km layout, but the action can be somewhat muted, with few viewing the venue as a favourite.
The build-up to the weekend has been dominated by the fallout from the Monaco Grand Prix, with Alpine appealing time penalties handed to Pierre Gasly for speeding in the pit lane. While he was far from the only driver to be penalised, he did not serve the penalty during the race, meaning Alpine could use its right to review. The review was upheld, and Gasly was reinstated to third place, demoting Isack Hadjar off the podium. In the appeal decision document, it is said that evidence was provided which showed "that the distance used in calculating the F1 Official Timing (and hence the pit lane speed) was inaccurate and overestimated the speed of Car 10". The fallout from this is expected to continue, with Mercedes said to be "livid" over the decision after George Russell was similarly penalised and then further sanctioned for failing to correctly serve his penalty.
As for the on-track action, Kimi Antonelli is looking to further extend his championship lead with a sixth victory in succession. He has already equalled Lewis Hamilton's career-best winning streak, and could surpass that marker on Sunday. Highlighting the achievement, only Max Verstappen (10), Sebastian Vettel (9), Nico Roseberg (7), Michael Schumacher (7), and Alberto Ascari (7) have won more than five in a row.
Ferrari will be hoping to continue its recent strong form, notably with Hamilton, who has stood on the podium on the last two outings, while McLaren looks to bounce back from a bruising run of results, in particular for Lando Norris, who has suffered with reliability woes in Canada and Monaco.
FP1 will see numerous rookie drivers take to the track, with Fred Vesti replacing Antonelli at Mercedes, Dino Beganovic in for Hamilton at Ferrari, Leonardo Fornaroli taking Lando Norris' McLaren, Ayumu Iwasa in for Hadjar at Red Bull, Luke Browning replacing Alex Albon at Williams, Paul Aron stepping into Nico Hulkenberg;s Audi, and Colton Herta replacing Sergio Perez at Cadillac.
2026 Monaco Grand Prix Friday schedule
FP1 12:30pm BST - 1:30pm BST
FP2: 4:00pm BST - 5:00pm BST
12 Jun 2026
17:14
F1 Barcelona GP: FP2 Report
Lando Norris pips George Russell as McLaren strikes back in second Barcelona F1 practice
Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris pipped George Russell to the fastest time as McLaren hit back in second practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Norris, who was one of seven drivers to sit out of opening practice so that F1 rookies could complete one of their mandated FP1s, produced the quickest time on soft tyres during the qualifying simulations runs to edge out Russell by 0.009 seconds.
Lando Norris, McLaren
17:13
F1 Barcelona GP: Friday results
2026 F1 Barcelona Grand Prix - Friday Practice Results
Lando Norris ended Friday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as the fastest Formula 1 driver.
McLaren bounced back strongly from a poor weekend in Monaco, with both Norris and Oscar Piastri featuring in the top three in FP2.
Aron in Spain
© XPB Images
17:01
Chequered flag
The flag falls, and Norris ends Friday as the fastest driver, with Russell and Piastri in the top three. Leclerc and Antonelli complete the top five.
16:58
A problem for Antonelli who reports a "horrible" feeling on the brake pedal. "It's very long," he adds, but he continues on his way after a little fiddling with his steering wheel.
16:56
Both Aston Martins are now in the pits. They are the only team without a car on the track. Given the deficit, it's fair to question what they could learn in the closing four minutes.
16:55
Into the gravel for Russell at Turn 9, as he locks the front brakes. A quick tyre change, and he's back out on the track. Five minutes remain, and the top 10 is:
- Norris
- Russell
- Piastri
- Leclerc
- Antonelli
- Verstappen
- Lindblad
- Bortoleto
- Hamilton
- Hadjar
16:53
This could well be the lowest point of the season for Aston Martin so far, and you have to wonder what is stopping the team from packing up and going home. Four seconds off the pace, over a second off the pace of the lead Cadillac...this will be leaving some seriously red faces at the team in green.
16:52
A very near miss for Hadjar, as Perez turns in on him at Turn 3. The Cadillac driver really needed to use his mirrors there as that could have been a nasty incident.
16:48
Verstappen is no fan of the hard tyres. He asks to pit early to get rid of them, and Red Bull duly obliges.
16:43
Into the final 20 minutes of the Friday action. Medium tyres are back on and it looks like we're heading for the long runs.
16:40
Hamilton is complaining of a loose rear end. He's in P9 at the moment, 1.205s off the pace, and just under a second behind Ferrari team-mate Leclerc, who sits in P4.
16:39
Good news for Bottas fans. He's out on the track finally, and has gone to P18 after his first laps. That makes him faster than Perez already!
16:37
Piastri goes half a tenth off the top spot with a 1m15.483s. But here comes Norris, who goes fastest with a 1m15.426s.
16:35
Alonso improves with his latest effort, but is 3.8s off the pace. This will be an awful weekend for Aston Martin.
16:34
Soft tyres for Piastri, and let's see what the McLaren driver has. It's a green first sector, but it's hardly an eye-catching improvement.
16:33
Antonelli goes to P4, over half a second back on Russell. That lap from Piastri is looking increasingly impressive.
16:32
Purple for Russell in sector two, and Russell completes the lap. A 1m15.435s is the new benchmark, but it's not massively faster than Piastri on mediums. Don't give us hope that McLaren could be in it this weekend!
16:31
Green sectors are lighting up the timing screen now - finally! - and Russell has gone purple in sector one. We are finally in the quali sim phase!
16:29
Stroll and Albon have set their best times on the soft tyres, but they are both over three seconds off the pace? What is going on here?
16:28
Right, soft tyres have been fitted to all cars currently on the track in the bottom half of the field. Time for some quali sims? It really would be nice to see some pace!
16:25
So far, those quali sims we promised have not come to pass, with Verstappen returning to the pits without unleashing his Red Bull.
16:21
With Lawson's car cleared, Verstappen and Sainz have fitted the soft tyres, and start the charge for some qualifying simulations. Let the fun begin!
16:18
VSC for Lawson
The Virtual Safety Car has been deployed, but Lawson looks ready to climb out of his car. It seems like a gearbox issue is to blame. "Dude, oh my god," he says on the radio.
16:17
Problems for Lawson, who loses power seconds after exiting the pits. Yellow flags are out as he sits in the exit lane.