Kimi Antonelli Tops Opening Day At Madring

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli ended the opening day at the new Madring circuit at the top of the timesheets. The young Italian set the benchmark with a lap of 1:33.662, recorded on the Soft C4 compound during the second free practice session, the only session of the day to be interrupted by a red flag.

Charles Leclerc finished second, 0.113 seconds behind Antonelli, ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who posted a 1:33.811 and narrowly avoided the barriers on the exit of Turn 17. The top three all began the session on a new set of Medium tyres before switching to the Soft compound, on which they set their quickest laps.

Arvid Lindblad, fourth fastest, was also responsible for the session stoppage after crashing into the barriers at Turn 13. George Russell, fifth in FP2, had dominated the opening session with a time of 1:34.077. The first hour of running featured numerous lap times deleted for track limits infringements but no interruptions. Antonelli, who was second in FP1, set the quickest overall Medium-tyre lap of the day during the final hour of running, recording a 1:33.926.

The Medium compound was the most widely used tyre on Friday, accounting for 58% of all laps completed. Oliver Bearman completed the highest mileage on the C3, extracting 23 laps from a single set, while Leclerc holds the benchmark for the C4 after completing 17 laps on one set. The Hard tyre was used only by Gabriel Bortoleto in FP1 and Nico Hülkenberg in FP2, with the German also setting the quickest time on the C2 thanks to a lap of 1:35.746.

Temperatures were high throughout the day, with track temperature peaking at 51°C at the start of the second free practice session, while the air temperature reached 32°C.

George Russell – Fastest in FP1

“It was very fun driving the Madring for the first time today. It is always an enjoyable experience when you get to try out a new track; this place is particularly challenging, which is good fun as we get to grips with it.

“We started well in FP1, and the car was strong from the off. We made some set-up changes for FP2 but I’m not sure they improved the car so we may row back on them overnight. The bigger question from today is the tyre degradation. It was very high in FP1 and, although it was reduced for FP2, the long Turn 12 really puts the tyres under pressure and that will be difficult to manage on Sunday. That is something we will need to be on top of if we are to be in the fight this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to the rest of the weekend now. Overtaking on the long run in FP2 was really tough so qualifying will be very important. We looked decent on the single lap but with the smoothness of the tarmac here, it wasn’t always straightforward to get the tyres working for lap one. That is something we will work on overnight and tomorrow in FP3; hopefully we can get ourselves in the battle for pole position.”

Kimi Antonelli – Fastest in FP2

“That is our first day done on track in Madrid and it is a very cool circuit to drive around. It is a real challenge for us as drivers, with lots of high-speed corners and walls close by. You need to be very precise with your lines and good on the brakes; it is very easy to lock-up as there are a lot of places where you are braking and turning at the same time. It is a fun challenge and one that I am enjoying.
 
“We’ve had a good first day here but there is still lots of work to do ahead of the rest of the weekend. It is going to be difficult to look after the tyres on Sunday and overtaking is likely going to be a real challenge. That makes our single lap work tomorrow morning even more important; we will focus on that overnight but also looking to ensure we have a good race car for Sunday.”

Simone Berra – Pirelli Chief Engineer

“Today was particularly important as it allowed both us and the teams to gather the first real-world data from a completely new circuit. Unfortunately, the red flag in the middle phase of the second free practice session reduced both the number and length of the long runs, limiting the amount of information available from a race perspective. We observed graining on both the front and rear left tyres, in some cases quite significant, which contributed to accelerating wear on the cars most prone to sliding. Differences between the teams are already becoming apparent in terms of who is able to manage the tyres more effectively over a stint.

“Track conditions were very good from the outset, with grip levels among the highest seen so far this season. The combination of high grip and a very smooth track surface encouraged the onset of graining, although this should ease slightly as the circuit continues to evolve, a trend that was already noticeable throughout the day. The Hard tyre represents the most important option for the race, given degradation levels higher than initially expected and the high temperatures that are forecast to persist over the coming days. The performance gap between the Medium and Soft compounds proved smaller than anticipated, averaging around half a second. Looking ahead to tomorrow’s qualifying session, it will be crucial to maximise the first flying lap in order to avoid the onset of thermal degradation, while carefully managing traffic, which could prove to be a decisive factor around this circuit.”

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Written by

Jarrod Partridge

Jarrod Partridge is the Co-Founder of F1 Chronicle and an FIA accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following Formula 1. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered F1 races at circuits around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every race report, driver profile, and technical analysis he writes.

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