Kimi Antonelli leads drivers' championship by 66 points
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Live Reporting
Lorraine McKenna
Welcome backpublished at 15:45 BST 12 June
15:45 BST 12 June
Lorraine McKenna BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Hello again, folks. The rookies have left the building - or gone back to F2 - and now it's time for the full quota of F1 drivers to take to the track for second practice in Barcelona.
So, tagged back in are title leader Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris over at McLaren, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Williams' Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg at Audi and Sergio Perez for Cadillac.
Mercedes driver George Russell set the pace from McLaren's Oscar Piastri in first practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Russell was 0.203 seconds quicker than Piastri, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The session was marked by six junior drivers replacing the regulars as part of the mandatory requirement for teams to use at least two practice sessions a year for up and coming drivers.
McLaren's Leonardo Fornaroli was the fastest, in fifth place, ahead of Estonian Paul Aron in an Audi, on loan from his regular role as Alpine reserve driver.
Back for FP2 from 15:45 BSTpublished at 13:43 BST 12 June
13:43 BST 12 June
George Russell is back to the top of the timesheets but title leader and Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, plus Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who has replaced Russell in second place in the championship, are back in the mix for second practice this afternoon.
Let's all go have some lunch and then regroup at 15:45 BST for FP2.
Max Verstappen brings his Red Bull home in fourth place, Leo Fornaroli banks a great P5 for himself in the McLaren and fellow rookie Paul Aron puts his Audi an impressie sixth spot, six places higher than team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto, who was not happy with his set-up during that session.
Mercedes' George Russell ends first practice in Barcelona quickest with a time of 1:16.363 on the soft compound.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri is second, two tenths back on Russell, with Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari third on the timesheets, half a second off the pace of the Silver Arrows of Russell.
The top three of George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc have switched back to the medium tyre for the closing stages of this session, and here comes the chequered flag...
This has been a routine first practice session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. George Russell is quickest ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton will be back in the car for second practice.
Gabriel Bortoleto's opening hour has been scrappy, with the Brazilian back on the Audi radio to highlight more issues following another twitch. He's 18th on the timesheets now, with team-mate Paul Aron, in for Nico Hulkenberg, in sixth.
Fornaroli up to fifthpublished at 13:25 BST 12 June
13:25 BST 12 June
The rookies are looking good in this session. McLaren reserve driver and back-to-back F3 and F2 champion Leo Fornaroli is sitting in for reigning F1 champ Lando Norris in this session and after his hot lap on the soft tyre, the Italian 21-year-old clocks a 1:17.216 to go fifth on the timesheets.
Liam Lawson, meanwhile, is on the radio to Racing Bulls saying something is broken in the car, while Pierre Gasly also calls Alpine to say he is having suspension troubles.
Abbi Pulling 2024 F1 Academy champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
It's really nice to see a rookie, Paul Aron, in P5, being really respectable and up there. It almost feels like a new era. I think it's so important what Kimi Antonelli is doing right now because the top teams are going to look at younger drivers and give them opportunities.
It doesn't look like we'll see Luke Browning in this session. The 24-year-old rookie is yet to get in the car and take the Williams out for a spin in Barcelona.
Paul Aron, meanwhile, is up in the top five following his latest flying lap on the soft compound. The Audi driver is fifth, with team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto down in P15 on the timesheets.
Brazilian Bortoleto is next to the cross the line and moves up the order to go ninth, which becomes P10 fairly quickly with Dino Beganovic's latest lap for Ferrari, who is now seventh.
First he crashes out of his home race last weekend in Monaco, which he says "still hurts", and then he was forced to wear his team-mate Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari kit in the Barcelona paddock yesterday.
The Monegasque driver was one of a number of retirees last time out and following his shunt at the final corner - the exact same place as Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, Leclerc was adamant he was not taking the blame for it - his brakes can.
With his latest DNF, Leclerc has dropped to fourth in the drivers' standings, 15 points behind Hamilton, who has leapfrogged both him and George Russell to sit second.
Leclerc said on Thursday it's full focus on the races ahead, although he couldn't provide an update on his brakes dilemma. Ferrari have brought an upgrade to Barcelona, so is this make or break for the Italian team?
"I think, realistically, there is still the Mercedes that remains the benchmark, so I think Mercedes will still be extremely strong," he said. "Red Bull were also strong in Monaco, so it's not like we're the only ones making progress.
"I don't have much expectations for this weekend, just because I don't want to have any."
Out on track today, Leclerc completes his opening flyer on the soft compound and goes third on the timesheets, half a second back on leader George Russell.
The camera pans to the crowd and a little Ferrari fan is asleep in his dad's arms - you're missing Leclerc's lap.
Russell goes quickestpublished at 13:08 BST 12 June
13:08 BST 12 June
George Russell has said he wants some "neutral luck" this weekend. Kimi Antonelli, leading the Briton by 68 points in the drivers' championship after Monte Carlo, is sitting out this first session, so the pressure is slightly off Russell for this first hour at least.
With his soft tyres bolted on, Russell goes ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who is now third, and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri after clocking a time of 1:16.363.
Russell is 0.203 seconds quicker than Australian Piastri.
Verstappen top on softspublished at 13:04 BST 12 June
13:04 BST 12 June
Max Verstappen will be hoping to bounce back after a miserable Monaco Grand Prix. We had high hopes for a great battle off the line between the Dutchman and polesitter Kimi Antonelli but his Red Bull stalled at lights out, with his race ending shortly after.
Verstappen is on the soft compound and goes to the top of the timesheets with a 1:17.047.
The highest rookie on the board so far is Paul Aron, who is replacing Audi's Nico Hulkenberg for this session and is seventh at the moment.
Dino Beganovic (below) is in for Lewis Hamilton over at Ferrari. The 22-year-old kicks up some dust and is on the radio to say: "I had a lot more power out of Turn Seven than I expected."
Gabriel Bortoloto, meawhile, is off the track and into the gravel in the other Audi. The Brazilian falls foul around the same Turn Seven-Eight-Nine section other drivers have complained about.
"Ah mate, I'm losing the rear so much. The car is very unstable," says Bortoleto to his engineer.
Get Involved - your views on Gasly reinstatementpublished at 13:00 BST 12 June
13:00 BST 12 June
Select 'Get Involved' to send us your views
The reinstatement is clearly ludicrous purely on the basis that they can't reinstate the other drivers' positions and therefore why should Gasly be treated differently? Obviously this situation should never have happened in the first place but now we're here, that should be how it is.
Joe
I'm pleased, but how on earth did Mercedes not achieve this in Abu Dhabi 2021!!!
Giles
It's not about "if Gasly is innocent everyone is". You pay the money and go through the process. Alpine did, others didn't. The others must feel foolish.
Carlos Sainz is up to seventh on the timesheets following his small delay at the start of the session but an impeding incident has been noted by race control between the Spaniard and Liam Lawson. The New Zealander was not happy with Sainz's positioning on track.
Lawson is currently sitting in fourth place followed by his Racing Bulls team-mate Arvid Lindblad, the two drivers bringing home double points for the team last weekend in Monaco.
Lorraine McKenna
Image source, Getty Images
