F1 Spanish GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Mercedes heads to Barcelona buoyed by its double podium at Portimao just five days ago. But can Red Bull strike back at a circuit that is often happy hunting ground for Mercedes? Only once has the manufacturer failed to win at Barcelona since the start of the turbo-hybrid era. And that one occasion was the infamous race when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided on the first lap and gifted Max Verstappen victory on his Red Bull debut. Incredibly, that's now five years ago...

Two drivers who will have to wait a little longer to experience the reprofiled layout are Kimi Raikkonen and George Russell. Robert Kubica and Roy Nissany will be making appearances for Alfa Romeo and Williams, respectively, for this session.

There is also a slight tweak to the Barcelona layout for the field to get their heads around this year, with drivers split over the significance of the changes to the Turn 10/11 complex: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/drivers-react-to-2021-barcelona-track-changes/6503628/

While Barcelona may be a track F1 teams and drivers know like the back of their hands, it's not quite as familiar as usual. Normally they would be heading to the circuit with reams and reams of data banked from pre-season testing. But not this year. With testing taking place in Bahrain, it means Friday practice will be a little bit more useful for the teams in Spain than usual.

 

After two races at stand-in venues - Imola and the Algarve circuit - F1 is now back on more familiar territory with a return to Barcelona. And, unlike last year's Spanish GP, it's taking place in its traditional May slot.

Buenos dias! Welcome to Autosport's live coverage of Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, round four of the 2021 Formula 1 season.