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Poor Charles Leclerc can't catch a break.

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.

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.

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.

Image source, PA Media

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:17.353

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.202

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.656

4. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.708

5. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1.148

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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.

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George Russell isn't looking for a major handout heading into round seven in Spain. "Like I said in Monaco, I'm just dying to have a smooth weekend," he said on Thursday. "I'm not asking for the world to give me luck, I just want neutral luck."

Since Russell's opening victory in Australia followed by his sprint win in China, he's had to watch on as his younger team-mate has dominated the campaign. After his latest disappointment in round six - he came away with no points for the second race weekend in a row - he's sticking with his assessment that the title is now way out of reach.

Russell added: "Now I feel the pressure feels off, to be honest. I'm just going to try and enjoy every race, not even thinking about a championship."

Luke Browning is still waiting to get out in the Williams to start his first practice session. Team principal James Vowles tells Sky Sports on the pit wall it's a small electrical issue that is curtailing the Briton's running.

Other rookies are out on track, though, and Mercedes' Fred Vesti has just locked-up at heading into Turn One.

The majority of the field are on the medium tyre, with George Russell top of the timesheets with a 1:17.353 from the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. Title leader Kimi Antonelli is watching on from the sidelines for this opening hour.

Colton Herta is driving Sergio Perez's Cadillac for first practice. The American has been pinned as a future F1 star for a while now, and he's in gis first season in Formula 2 this season.

Herta reaches Turn Eight but he goes over the kerb and does well to save the car from any danger, and tells his pit wall the left-hand side bottomed out.

There's a bit of confusion over at Audi. "Lisa, how is the car?" ask an engineer. "Hello, I'm Gabi!" responds Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto. "Oh, sorry Gabi!".

Who is Lisa?!

Oscar Piastri is out on track early but the Australian driver has news for his pit wall already. "The brakes have a vibration on them," he says. The reply comes and it's basically, sit tight until second practice. "No, it's OK," responds Piastri.

Over at Williams, Carlos Sainz had a steering issue trying to get out of the pit lane, while rookie team-mate Luke Browning is stuck in the garage and nowhere as the mechanics work on his, or Alex Albon's, car.

The tyres selected by Pirelli for this weekend's grand prix are a step softer than usual in Barcelona, with the C2 as the hard, C3 as the medium and the C4 as the soft compound. There is no rain forecast, but the green intermediates and blue full wets are here too.

Explaining their decision, the Italian supplier said: "Given the characteristics of the current compounds, the aim is to encourage a greater number of pit stops and also the inclusion of the hard tyre in race strategies."

Barcelona's 14-corner track features four straight mode zones, with the overtake activation point just before the final turn, leading onto the start-finish straight.

It was announced on Thursday Pirelli will continue as Formula 1's tyre supplier until 2028.

With a decent number of rookies on display in this opening practice session, a few cars - Red Bull's Ayumu Iwasa and McLaren newbie Leonardo Fornaroli - are running aerodynamic rakes so teams can gather some data.

Carlos Sainz is stuck in the pit lane. "It's not switching on," says the Spaniard. Williams copy that, and other drivers go round his stricken car to make their way out onto the Barcelona circuit.

Phew. What a morning already!

Let's get cracking with first practice, shall we?

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

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British racing driver Alice Powell is on commentator duty this weekend in Barcelona and is joined by 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling and BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

Powell steps up in place of regular lead commentator Harry Benjamin, who is working for Sky F1 in Barcelona.

Pulling, who is racing in the GB3 category this year - reprises the role of co-commentator and analyst she has performed a number of times previously.

"Who would have thought that six-year-old Alice, who would pretend to be Murray Walker commentating on my own little race on my bike in the garden, would be having the chance to lead a BBC commentary many years later?" said Powell.

To tune in to first practice, click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, head over to the BBC Sounds app if you're out and about today or ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra".

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Barcelona begins the influx of rookies taking part in first practice, as each full-time driver is mandated to give up their seat for a newbie during two practice sessions throughout the campaign.

American Colton Herta is making his Formula 1 debut this weekend, sitting in for Sergio Perez over at Cadillac in the opening hour.

The 26-year-old former IndyCar driver made the move to Formula 2 with Hitech this season and is 13th in the standings.

Also new to FP1 is Leo Fornaroli. The 21-year-old Italian won back-to-back titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2 and has been picked up by McLaren as a reserve driver for the 2026 season, alongside Mexican Pato O'Ward.

Mercedes

Fred Vesti - replaces Kimi Antonelli

Ferrari

Dino Beganovic - replaces Lewis Hamilton

McLaren

Leo Fornaroli - replaces Lando Norris

Red Bull

Ayumu Iwasa - replaces Isack Hadjar

Williams

Luke Browning - replaces Alex Albon

Audi

Paul Aron - replaces Nico Hulkenberg

Cadillac

Colton Herta - replaces Sergio Perez

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Back to the build-up to Barcelona and can Kimi Antonelli keep his title momentum going as we head into the second race on Europe soil? He's now 66 points clear of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton following his fifth win in a row.

His European run last year consisted of four DNFs and a measly three points. This time around, he's in a much healthier position of leading the championship from drivers far more experienced than he is.

"This year it's a different story and you mature a lot after one year in F1 not only as a driver but also as a person," said Antonelli.

"Last year during the difficult period, I got to know myself better. Considering how bad it was in the moment, I am very grateful it happened because it made me grow a lot and taught me a lot about myself. This year I haven't been questioning or doubting myself.

"I feel very lucky to be in the position I am, it requires a lot of effort and commitment and the job is not done."

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Pierre Gasly has just had a chat with Sky Sports. "It's sounds really good," he says when told he now has a Monaco Grand Prix podium.

"I'm extremely happy for the whole team and proud of they way they have fought for all of us for that result.

"I must say, Sunday night, I felt very low. A lot of mixed emotions: proud of the performance but extremely sad about the situation, some injustice in all that situation.

"The team did an amazing job; I'm extremely proud of everyone."

Gasly is now up to eighth in the drivers' championship on 35 points, nine points clear of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar.