Motorsport journalist and podcaster
Charles Leclerc swept the first two practice sessions at the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of George Russell on another potentially promising practice day for Mercedes.
Leclerc’s soft-tire run came in at 1m19.670s, which was just 0.117s quicker than Russell’s best effort and 0.2s quicker than Lewis Hamilton. It’s the second consecutive round Mercedes has looked competitive during Friday practice, after Russell topped FP2 in Miami two weeks ago, albeit before the car mysteriously fell away from Saturday onwards.
More promising this weekend at least is that the W13 was fastest in the speed trap, the team having struggled with straight-line performance for much of the year to date. Russell also said the car felt improved compared to Miami, another sign of potential light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc led Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz to the top of the time sheet in first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Title leader Leclerc’s best time of 1m19.828s was 0.079s quicker than his teammate’s fastest attempt despite the Monegasque complaining of light traffic on his flying lap on softs.
Both Ferrari cars are running in heavily upgraded configuration for the first time this season, with the floor being the principal area of focus as the team seeks to close its estimated 0.2s gap to Red Bull Racing.
Continue reading on RACERThe pressure is building on Ferrari ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
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They say the Spanish Grand Prix is where a Formula 1 season really starts, and with Ferrari in the lead but Red Bull Racing closing fast, both teams will hope to leave Barcelona with the campaign reset in their favour.