F1 Spanish GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race

Norris has been unleashed. He goes eight tenths faster than Verstappen on his first lap without Russell blocking his path. 

"Box to overtake." A ploy from McLaren to make Russell pit? Yes, it appears this was the case - on this lap at least. 

All is not as simple as it seemed for Verstappen, who runs fractionally into the gravel on the exit of Turn 7. He gets away with it but that will have caught his attention. 

The undercut is strong. Zhou is now two seconds off Hulkenberg, who was six places ahead when the Sauber initially pitted.

It should probably be said how nice it was that the Euros were organised without a fixture that clashes with the Spanish GP. Germany v Switzerland and Scotland v Hungary at 8pm BST for anyone interested. 

Alonso's early misery continues as a wheel dips into the gravel and he loses more time.

Bottas is the latest to pit - opting for another set of softs.

The stops at the back of the field have started a domino effect - Magnussen also switching to mediums. That has already put him behind the two early stoppers.

Having been under early pressure from Sainz, Leclerc is now beginning to press Hamilton. But the train is now forming behind Russell as Verstappen scampers away. 

Piastri is now right on the tail of Gasly's Alpine for seventh. This is race-critical for the McLaren driver, but no move yet.

In second, Russell has informed Mercedes that he is "pushing more than others". That won't be great for his tyre life. 

Another move for Sauber down the field as Zhou gets past Tsunoda for P16. The RBs are struggling.

We're now beginning to settle into the regular order of things for the Spanish GP at the front - fairly even gaps, lots of tyre preservation and not too much attacking - unless you happen to be one of the two Ferrari drivers. 

Alonso has lost two further places though, with team-mate Stroll and then Bottas' Sauber getting by. That's the battle for 12th, 13th and 14th.

Replays of Alonso's start show he actually had a good launch, but a huge swap at the rear forced him across the chicane.

And there's the decision - no further action in the Verstappen incident. 

Verstappen already has a lead of over one second but is now has been noted for forcing Norris off the track on the opening lap. 

Verstappen's team-mate Perez has been unable to make any ground from the start and stays in 11th.

The Mexican has dropped out of DRS range to Hulkenberg ahead.

Onto lap three and here comes Verstappen! He uses DRS and goes around the outside of Turn 1 after being advised this "might be out best opportunity". 

Verstappen is sticking on the rear of Russell's Mercedes, just 0.6s back, while Verstappen has dropped 1.3s off the pair. DRS will be enabled at the end of this lap. 

Alonso was forced to the runoff area at Turn 1 and lost two places, falling to 12th. But all in all, a clean start.

The has really put the cat among the pigeons. 

Russell leads Verstappen from Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc. 

A strong start for Norris but Verstappen comes back in the second phase and Russell sweeps around the pair of them from fourth on the grid! 

After completing the formation lap, the drivers are now creeping back onto the grid. It's almost time! 

Verstappen does have a new set of softs in his back pocket, but he is not running them at the start. 

However, there is a mix of used and new softs on show - Norris and both Ferrari drivers among those on new tyres. 

We'd spoken of strategy variation. You'll be pleased to know then that all drivers are starting on the soft tyre. Wonderful.

Before we get going on around one minute, here's a final reminder of the grid order.

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	1'11.383	234.862
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.020 1'11.403	234.796
3	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.318 1'11.701	233.821
4	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.320 1'11.703	233.814
5	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.348 1'11.731	233.723
6	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.353 1'11.736	233.706
7	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+0.474 1'11.857	233.313
8	E. Ocon Alpine	31		Alpine	Renault	+0.742 1'12.125	232.446
9	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes
10	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+0.745 1'12.128	232.436
11	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.678 1'12.061	232.652
12	V. Bottas Sauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	+0.844 1'12.227	232.118
13	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	+0.927 1'12.310	231.851
14	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+0.989 1'12.372	231.653
15	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.355 1'12.738	230.487
16	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	+1.554 1'12.937	229.858
17	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	+1.602 1'12.985	229.707
18	D. Ricciardo RB	3		RB	Red Bull	+1.692 1'13.075	229.424
19	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+1.770 1'13.153	229.179
20	L. Sargeant Williams	2		Williams	Mercedes	+2.126 1'13.509	228.070
View full results

Although the sky remains largely blue, there is a 20 percent risk of rain for the grand prix. A recipe for chaos, and we're here for it! 

We are now just over five minutes from the start of the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix and it's impossible to call who will win this one. Verstappen remains the favourite but could Norris, Hamilton or someone else pip the Dutchman to the post?

The DJ is on point right now. Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé's 'Barcelona' is now being belted out. What a tune! 

A sedate version of the Spanish anthem is unexpectedly followed by the Catalan anthem, as Alonso and Sainz stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the other 18 drivers.