F1 2024 Spain Grand Prix LIVE: FP1 news, schedule, start time and results in Barcelona

“No power,” says the Spaniard. He gets told to go to “Strat 1 and will be fine.”

All early laps are on the medium and hard tyre, with 14 of the 20 drivers out on track so far.

It’s all about testing and going through programmes right now – but for what it’s worth, George Russell quickest so far, with Sainz in second and Max Verstappen in third.

The first of three hours of practice in Barcelona then, with home hero Fernando Alonso one of the first cars out at a track where he gained his last win, in 2013.

How will the Aston Martin do this weekend?

Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas leads a queue of cars out for the start of FP1! A lot of cars with testing-esque aero-rakes too…

It’s a beautiful sunny day on the outskirts of Barcelona as we get ready for free practice 1 in Barcelona!

And this will be the second time we see Ollie Bearman in a Haas in practice, after his outing at Imola – he’ll replace Nico Hulkenberg for this session.

1. Max Verstappen – 194 points

2. Charles Leclerc – 138 points

3. Lando Norris – 131 points

4. Carlos Sainz – 108 points

5. Sergio Perez – 107 points

6. Oscar Piastri – 81 points

7. George Russell – 69 points

8. Lewis Hamilton – 55 points

9. Fernando Alonso – 41 points

10. Yuki Tsunoda – 19 points

11. Lance Stroll – 17 points

12. Daniel Ricciardo – 9 points

13. Oliver Bearman – 6 points

14. Nico Hulkenberg – 6 points

15. Pierre Gasly – 3 points

16. Alex Albon – 2 points

17. Esteban Ocon – 2 points

18. Kevin Magnussen – 1 point

19. Zhou Guanyu – 0 points

20. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

21. Logan Sargeant – 0 points

“A decision will be taken very soon, I don’t want to wait any longer. It’s taken space in my head for a number of months now.

“I’m still not sure one way or another, still something I’m discussing with my team, brainstorming, I need a few days at home.”

“We’ve had a bad weekend in Montreal – we have to be emotionally flat, let the talk slide, and in the team that’s the case. We care about the mentality in the team and it’s really good.

£We know our strengths and we know what we need to work on, we have a lot of things to work on. But we know the direction we’re taking.”

Seven upgrades for Ferrari this weekend – the most of any team.

Two men have been arrested by German police on allegations of blackmailing the family of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, as reported by German newspaper Bild.

The report states that the two men, from the German city of Wuppertal, were seeking millions of Euros from the family of the seven-time F1 world champion.

Public prosecutors in Wuppertal have opened an investigation into blackmail directed at a celebrity and arrests have been made in connection with the probe, said a spokesperson, without naming the celebrity.

Lewis Hamilton, George Russell – 14/1

Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda – 100/1

Exclusive by Kieran Jackson:

The duties of a reserve driver in Formula One are unique, distinctive and unlike most back-ups in other sports. With the chances of a last-minute call-up to the cockpit extremely unlikely, you lead a life in the shadows. Out of mind, but never fully out of sight. In Mick Schumacher’s case, he has been omnipresent in the F1 paddock for more than three years but, to his detectible discontent, the last 18 months have been without a race seat.

“Fighting your way back is exhausting,” Schumacher tells The Independent, in the familiar surroundings of the Mercedes motorhome. You get this cake presented to you which is really good, but you’re not allowed to eat it. And you have to watch everybody else eat it. So it’s tough, for sure, but I know why I’m doing it.”