Mercedes and McLaren take early lead at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

The FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA 2026 got underway today, Friday, with Mercedes and McLaren topping the timesheets. George Russell was the fastest in the first free practice session, while Lando Norris took over in the afternoon, confirming the strong performance of the British team on a day marked by high temperatures and intense work by the teams on long runs. Another highlight of this first day of action was the fantastic response from the fans, with the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya selling out for this Grand Prix.

The action on the track began with an FP1 session notable for the presence of up to seven debutants or reserve drivers linked to various teams: Leonardo Fornaroli (McLaren), Paul Aron (Audi), Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Colton Herta (Cadillac), Ayumu Iwasa (Red Bull) and Luke Browning (Williams) seized the opportunity to clock up some mileage in Formula 1 cars. This session offered a valuable opportunity to observe the emerging talent in the category up close.

The weather conditions were another key factor of the day. Track temperatures exceeded 50 degrees for much of the sessions, causing significant tyre degradation. Some teams recorded performance losses of between three and four tenths of a second per lap in their race simulations, a factor that could prove decisive on Sunday with strategies that, in theory, could require at least two pit stops.

Among the front-running teams, Mercedes and McLaren showed the best pace both on a single lap and over longer stints, whilst Ferrari and Red Bull remain in the mix ahead of Saturday’s decisive sessions. Russell set the fastest time in FP1 with a 1:16.363, followed by Piastri and Leclerc. Meanwhile, in the afternoon, Norris clocked an improved 1:15.426, with Russell and Piastri in the provisional top three. Kimi Antonelli, the Monaco winner and championship leader, finished fifth in the only session he took part in today.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin has had a difficult start to the weekend, as Fernando Alonso predicted yesterday. The British team failed to match the pace of the leading teams, with Alonso spending the day gathering data and looking for improvements ahead of qualifying. Both he and Lance Stroll ended the day towards the bottom of the standings.

The other home driver, Carlos Sainz, finished 13th and 14th in the two sessions, which is in line with his own predictions at the start of the weekend. The Madrid-born driver is confident that he will be able to fight for points on Sunday, a goal that seems within reach judging by Williams’ performance on Friday.

With margins still very tight and numerous unknowns yet to be resolved, Saturday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will be crucial in determining whether Mercedes and McLaren can capitalise on Friday’s promising signs to gain an advantage in the fight for pole position, or if other contenders will join them in this battle for the fastest times.

Beyond the on-track action, the day also brought significant sporting news, with Pierre Gasly being reinstated to the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix following a stewards’ review of his case.

On a local note, Fernando Alonso has once again extended a historic record that is unlikely ever to be matched. The Asturian has become the only driver in Formula 1 history to have competed in 23 Grand Prix races at the same circuit, cementing his close association with the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.

Pole for Rafael Câmara in F2

Rafael Câmara led the qualifying session for the intermediate category at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Invicta Racing driver was one of the few to break the one-minute-and-24-second barrier. In fact, only he and Joshua Durksen managed to achieve this time, making the Invicta team the favourites. Alexander Dunne (Rodin Motorsport) set the third-fastest time of the day. Gabriele Minì and Nikola Tsolov, the two rivals for the title, qualified in fourth and sixth place respectively.

The current format of the series, very similar to that of F3, means that these starting positions will apply to the grid for the Feature Race, Sunday’s main event. For tomorrow’s race, however, the grid will be reversed from first to tenth position. Consequently, Noel Leon and Campos Racing will start first in the Sprint Race.

Friday was less successful for Mari Boya, who was in third-last position when Ritomo Miyata caused a red flag to be waved to remove his car from the track with three minutes remaining. The session was declared over without being restarted.

Campos Racing, unbeatable in F3

The weekend’s junior single-seater category concluded its qualifying session today with a virtually unbeatable result for Campos Racing. The Alzira-based team secured first and second positions for its drivers, Téophile Naël and Ugo Ugochukwu, respectively. Furthermore, this marks the Frenchman’s third consecutive pole position, setting a best time of 1:28.263.

Hiyu Yamakoshi secured third place on the grid for Van Amersfoort Racing. His team-mate and promising local talent, Bruno del Pino, failed to meet expectations on his final flying lap attempt and had to settle for fifth place. The Barcelona-based driver will need to score as many points as possible this weekend if he is to keep up with Ugochukwu in the points standings. Brando Badoer (Rodin Motorsport) qualified between Yamakoshi and Del Pino, in fourth place to be precise.

With the grid reversed, the front row of tomorrow’s sprint race will be led by Gerard Xie (DAMS Lucas Oil) and James Wharton (Prema Racing).

Tauscher, the fastest in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup

The single-make cup has also completed its only session of the day, a 45-minute free practice session. The result saw Tauscher take first place, followed by De Haan and Amand. The current leader, Oeverhaus, finished eighth. The GTs will be back in action tomorrow at 11.20 am for the official qualifying session.

The Formula 1® Barcelona Fan Village, pure fun

The Formula 1® Barcelona Fan Village will continue to offer entertainment, music and fun until Saturday 13 June, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. With free admission, visitors simply need to download the invitation from the Circuit’s website to enjoy all this and much more.

A sustainable event

Under the 3C management philosophy (Conscience, Commitment and Consistency), which integrates social, economic and environmental aspects, the Circuit works to achieve responsible activity in its mission ‘Driving for a better future’, within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

This GP, which is certified to ISO 20121 and ISO 14001 standards, is once again proud to be held at Catalonia’s largest public self-consumption photovoltaic facility. The Catalan racetrack has a total of 2,319 solar panels that generate 50% of the energy consumed.

Other promoted actions are the rental of low-emission generators, the donation of surplus food, the offer of km0 and ecological food, the presence of drinking water sources in the public areas, the improvement of the biodiversity of the green areas, the collaboration with companies with social value, the valorisation and recycling of waste, the promotion of sustainable mobility, the use of the circular economy and many more.