Spanish Grand Prix – Max Verstappen was well out of reach at the front as the weekend got underway, but behind him times were all much more competitive.
Home hero Fernando Alonso was the first to take to the track as the opening practice of the weekend got underway. The Spaniard pitted before setting a time so it was his teammate, Lance Stroll who set the first time, a 1:23.614, on a Pirelli test tyre. On the subject of tests, there was a good bit of flow-viz and a few aero rakes to be seen too as teams tested out new elements on their cars.
(FP1) First Practice Results – 2023 Spanish Grand Prix
After ten minutes Max Verstappen was fastest with a 1:16.583, almost nine thousandths quicker than Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda, the top three all having set their times on the test tyres. Six drivers had been out but hadn’t set times at that stage – both Alfa Romeos and McLarens along with Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries.
The race tyres then started being put on and the test rest of the opening half hour passed without much incident, everyone getting a time on the board, but it was Verstappen who remained in control having brought his time down to a 1:15.945 on the mediums. The Red Bulls and Alpines were at the top with Pierre Gasly four tenths off in P2, Perez not too far behind while Esteban Ocon sat in P4 0.905 seconds slower than the reigning champion.
The Red Bulls switched to the soft compound at the halfway point, Perez putting in a 1:15.3 before Verstappen retook the top spot with a 1:14.606. The top two weren’t challenged over the next while, the others not getting particularly close to Perez, let alone trying to bridge the seven tenths gap between him and Verstappen.
With only ten minutes to go de Vries had gotten closest, the AlphaTauri driver 0.130 seconds slower than Perez, and the only other driver within a second of the best time. The session had been mostly overcast the whole time but overhead there were dark clouds gathering overhead and there was a potential for rain through the course of the weekend.
There was a bit of a coming together between Gasly and Sargeant at the end of the session, the Alpine racer going down the inside of the Williams car but backed off as the American turned in, not having noticed the car next to him, but the two got away with only slight contact.
In the end there was no change in the top two’s times but it was Ocon who took P3, the Monaco podium finisher setting a time 0.044 seconds off Perez’ effort. Ignoring the 0.768 second gap between the two Red Bull cars, there was less than half a second separating P2-P12.
De Vries was P4 ahead of Gasly while Alonso slotted into P6 with a 1:15.547, the last driver within a second of Verstappen. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen took P7 ahead of the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz while the top ten was rounded out by George Russell who set a 1:15.753 for Mercedes.
