George Russell leads first practice at Barcelona Grand Prix
Autosport • 1 min read • Latest: Jun 12, 2026, 12:41 PM
Last updated Jun 12, 2026
Mercedes driver George Russell topped the first practice session for the Barcelona Grand Prix on June 12, 2026. He achieved a best time of 1m16.363s, finishing ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Russell's performance comes amid ongoing upgrades for various teams, with a total of seven rookie drivers participating in the session. Carlos Sainz of Williams encountered issues at the start but managed to get on track later. The session concluded without major incidents, as drivers adjusted to their setups ahead of the race weekend.
- •Russell finished first in Free Practice 1 at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
- •Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc took second and third positions, respectively.
- •Seven rookie drivers participated in the session.
- •Carlos Sainz faced issues but later took to the track.
- •Drivers are preparing for the next practice session and qualifying rounds.
- 12:41 PMAutosport — F1 Barcelona GP: Russell tops first practice from Piastri
"Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell has topped first practice at the Barcelona Grand Prix, heading McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at Montmelo. On a hot Friday afternoon, Russell set a best time of 1m16.363s to head Piastri by two tenths. In a heavily upgraded Ferrari SF-26, Leclerc was 0.520s behind in third, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren ...Keep reading
"Mercedes driver George Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 1 for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, beating McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to the top spot in Spain.
Sources
External links- AutosportJun 12, 2026, 12:41 PMF1 Barcelona GP: Russell tops first practice from Piastri
Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell has topped first practice at the Barcelona Grand Prix, heading McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at Montmelo. On a hot Friday afternoon, Russell set a best time of 1m16.363s to head Piastri by two tenths. In a heavily upgraded Ferrari SF-26, Leclerc was 0.520s behind in third, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren ...Keep reading
- Formula1.com—Russell fastest from Piastri and Leclerc in Barcelona FP1
Mercedes driver George Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 1 for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, beating McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to the top spot in Spain.
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