Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Madrid

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell says Formula 1's new circuit in Madrid "has less margin than Monaco" as the sport races there for the first time at the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver set the pace in first practice at the Madring - a street-circuit style track built around an exhibition centre near the Spanish capital's airport.

"I would put this as a circuit that has less margin than Monaco," said Russell, who was 0.286 seconds faster than team-mate Kimi Antonelli in second place. "Purely because of the speed.

"In Monaco, the walls are closer, but because you're going far slower, if you make a mistake, you're not into the wall as quickly, and you can recover it sometimes, a small lock-up."

Russell was speaking a couple of hours before a practice session that ran incident-free.

A few drivers brushed the wall, including Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, but no-one damaged their car.

Read the full report here

Will this be another Mercedes one-two weekend? The contructors' leaders are looking strong at the all-new Madring so far but it's very early days in this Spanish Grand Prix.

Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had a lock-up on track during those soft runs - Hamilton also had a few issues with other cars - so will we see Ferrari up their game in the second hour of practice?

Time for us all to come in for a pit stop now, so get yourselves fed and watered and then come back and join us at 15:45 BST for FP2.

See you shortly!

The Chequered Flag team are in Madrid for Formula 1’s first race at its brand-new circuit. Jennie Gow is joined by the BBC’s F1 correspondent Andrew Benson and former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer to assess Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable momentum, George Russell’s fight to recover his season and Ferrari’s growing tensions. Plus, Andrew sits down with Max Verstappen to discuss his decision to remain with Red Bull.

Have a listen during the break either by clicking the play button above or by heading over to the BBC Sounds app.

11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

12. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

13. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

16. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

17. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

18. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)

19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

20. Alex Albon (Williams)

21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

22. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:34.077

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.286

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.543

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.606

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.626

6. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.870

7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.956

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.071

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.452

10. Liam Lawson (Red Bull) +1.462

OK, Lewis Hamilton might be the main topic of the drivers' briefing later. The Ferari driver is in the middle of Turn 12 - 'La Monumental' - and Williams' Carlos Sainz has to quickly swerve to avoid him. The Spaniard tells his pit wall "it's so dangerous", adding Hamilton needs to place his car better on track.

Whatever is loose in Oscar Piastri's car, it needs a bit more attention from the McLaren mechanics, so out jumps the Australian in the final few minutes of first practice.

Nico Hulkenberg is ninth on the timesheets and is trying his hand at another fast lap on the soft tyre. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton is in his way. The German is not impressed, and tells his Audi pit wall "I mean, that's nasty".

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:34.077

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.286

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.543

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.606

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.626

I think Ferrari are now on the soft tyre, although one screen says red and another medium yellow, so who knows? If Lewis Hamilton is a red runner, he needs to find 0.543 seconds to go above old Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the top of the timesheets.

After a magical day at Monza, triumphing from 19th on the grid, can Kimi Antonelli be the very first winner at the Madring? The young Italian has a decent buffer of 66 points to team-mate Russell in the championship, but right now, he's behind the Briton by 0.286 seconds in this opening Spanish practice session.

Oscar Piastri is sixth with 14 minutes left of this opening practice session but the Australian is feeling something strange in the McLaren. "I have something hanging in the cockpit around my feet. It's banging my feet," says Piastri. Come in right now, is the response from the pit wall.

Yuki Tsunoda's FP1 is done and dusted. Racing Bulls need a closer a look at the Japanese driver's car, so he climbs out and heads to the back of the garage.

George Russell resets for another go at the fast-flowing Madring on the soft tyre. The Mercedes man finds a bit more pace on his next attempt and goes quickest with a 1:34.145.

Nico Hulkenberg also finds improvements in the Audi, climbing to seventh on the board with a 1:35.533 on the soft compound.

George Russell was very gracious in his post-race interviews after finishing second to Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli last weekend at Monza. Do you think the Briton can overhaul the 66-point deficit and beat the Italian to the title this season? Up thumb for yes, down thumb for no.

The two drivers have bolted on the soft compound but the pair can't bump the Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton (top) and Charles Leclerc (second) on the timesheets. Antonelli is slightly quicker than Russell, who did move up a few places with his flying lap.

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda backed out of his first hot lap on the softs and now the Japanese driver tells Racing Bulls he has an issue. Come back to base, Yuki.

The best time so far at the Madring is Lewis Hamilton's 1:34.620 on the medium compound, but drivers are putting the C4s on now to the test the limits of the softest tyre.

Liam Lawson is purple in the middle sector before crossing the line and... staying in fourth place. The Kiwi is 0.919 seconds off Hamilton's top time after his opening lap on the red rubber.

Charles Leclerc is on a quick lap from second on the timesheets. The Monegasque driver, on the mediums, suddenly finds a car going slowly just in front of him. Who is it? Ah, it's his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Are angry fireworks about to go off at the Scuderia already? Nope. It's a polite "I don't think Lewis knew I was coming" from Leclerc.

The soft tyre is popping up on the timing screen now. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes team-mate George Russell, Red Bull's Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindbald have all gone red, so let's see what these drivers can do.

We don't want to jinx it, but so far, so good at the Madring. First practice is a learning opportunity for every driver, and no team wants a hefty repair bill on the opening day of track action. Having said that, Lewis Hamilton has just gone oh so close to the wall.

Over at Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad is 12th on the timing tower on the medium compound. The British rookie gets held up and tells his pit wall two drivers are running wide in a fast corner.

The drivers in question? Seven-time title winner Lewis Hamilton and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:34.803

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.345

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.865

4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.091

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.288

There are only a couple of laps on the board for last week's polesitter Pierre Gasly and his Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto. The two drivers finished in the points in Italy, and Gasly gave us one of the moments of the season so far with his maiden F1 pole position, six years after his first win at the same circuit.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, suffers a lock-up at Turn 13. The Mercedes driver is able to carry on with no harm done, but maybe that's a little early warning sign.

The Italian completes his lap and goes second behind Lewis Hamilton, who has improved again, 0.345 seconds off the Ferrari man.

With Isack Hadjar taking time to recover fully from his injury, Liam Lawson is once again Max Verstappen's team-mate over at Red Bull. The New Zealander has performed well so far, and he's currently sitting fourth on the timesheets, not too far off four-time worlxd champion Verstappen, who is second.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, said he and Charles Leclerc have "squashed" any controversy between them after the shenanigans of Monza.

Hamilton ended up into the gravel on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix, dropping down the order following his brush with Leclerc the first chicane. The Briton recovered to finish sixth, and said yesterday: "What's great is that there was no shying away from having a discussion. We sat face to face, just him and I, and talked about it."

With a new race weekend ahead of us all, Hamilton has improved on his previous time at the top of the timesheets, with Leclerc just 0.105 seconds behind in second.