The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team completed its first day of running at the new Madring as preparations for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix got underway.

The opening day presented an uphill challenge for the team with work required across the car including areas such as outright pace, tyre management and power unit exploitation.

Most significantly, a gearbox issue on Lando Norris' car cost the team a full session at a new circuit where every minute of track time is valuable for building knowledge and unlocking performance. The team will now work through the available data overnight ahead of Saturday's sessions.

With drivers and teams tackling the circuit for the first time, Free Practice 1 focused on building familiarity with the layout and gathering initial data as the team translated their simulator running into reality. The session allowed Lando and Oscar to develop their understanding of the braking points, corners and track surface, while giving the team an opportunity to correlate the simulator data and establish a baseline set-up for the remainder of the weekend. Free Practice 1 concluded with Lando completing 27 laps of the Madring to finish the session in P6, while Oscar finished P8 with 22 laps recorded.

These valuable learnings were carried into Free Practice 2, where Oscar completed his planned programme, finishing the session in P7 with 24 laps. The first Red Flag of the Spanish Formula 1 weekend was shown with 25 minutes remaining after Arvid Lindblad found the barriers, reducing running time for all teams. Lando's running had already been curtailed after a gearbox issue was identified early in the session, requiring the team to complete a gearbox change. Despite the garage crew's best efforts, he was unable to return to track before the end of FP2.

With this challenging day complete, the focus overnight will be on conquering the uphill encounter of the remainder of the weekend, combining the data gathered across both cars, assessing the short and long-run performance and refining the set-up ahead of Saturday. With conditions expected to evolve as more rubber is laid down, the team will also review the considerations for Qualifying following tomorrow's Free Practice 3 as it continues to learn the characteristics of Formula 1's newest venue.

Oscar Piastri: "Overall, a solid day. Lots of learning and driving on a new track always makes things a bit tougher to get on top of. Once you settle into a rhythm it's a pretty enjoyable one to drive but tyre management is going to be a tough one, as we have a lot of graining. I felt like we got a bit closer in FP2, which was a positive step, but we're still lacking pace, so we'll be working hard overnight to try and find more time.

"The main challenge is extracting the maximum performance from the car on a street circuit like this. Hopefully tomorrow we can find more consistency and unlock the ability to get that extra time out of the car. We'll see what we can do."

Lando Norris: "A tricky day, it was good to get the laps in this morning, where we identified a few changes we needed to make to the car, but ultimately we didn't get the chance to make any progress in FP2 due to a gearbox issue.

"Whenever you come to a new circuit, track time is very important, so we're clearly on the back foot having missed FP2. We'll work hard overnight looking at the data from FP1, from Oscar's car and the teams around us, and make sure we get as much learning as we can in FP3. Otherwise, it was good to get the first laps done here in Madrid, it's an interesting circuit and I'm looking forward to getting some more laps in ahead of Qualifying tomorrow."

Mark Temple - Technical Director, Performance: "Today presented a significant challenge, particularly with the gearbox issue that cost Lando a substantial amount of track time in FP2. It's a big setback on a new and technically demanding circuit like this, where every lap is crucial for gathering data. The conditions are tough for everyone, with high temperatures and low grip, so losing that running time certainly puts us on the back foot heading into Saturday.

"Our focus tonight is on a deep dive into the data to see where we can unlock more performance. The car isn't quite where we want it to be, but we have some clear ideas on both the chassis and driver side to explore. We'll be working hard to analyse a wider variety of potential changes than usual to ensure we can give both drivers a more competitive package for Qualifying. Maximising Lando's track time in FP3 will be our absolute priority to help him recover."