Completing as many laps as possible was one of Scuderia Ferrari HP's main aims on the first day of track activity at the Spanish Grand Prix, and the team completed its planned programme.

The Madring circuit is completely new to everyone and, as is the case at any street circuit, it was important for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to gradually get used to the track and its walls, while adjusting to the evolution of the grip levels on track. It actually offered a reasonable level of grip right from the opening session. Throughout the two hours of free practice, the team ran the Medium and Soft compound tyres, gathering useful data both for qualifying and from longer runs. Given the particularly twisty nature of the Madring and the expected difficulty of overtaking, much of the teams' work was focused on preparing for qualifying, which could be a significant factor on the outcome of the race.

In the first session, the team began its programme on the Medium tyres, on which both drivers immediately felt comfortable. Hamilton set a time of 1'34"620, 63 thousandths quicker than Leclerc (1'34"683). Both completed a long opening run - 15 laps for Lewis and 14 for Charles - before switching to the Softs with twenty minutes remaining. Both drivers struggled to improve their lap times on the softer compound. Leclerc eventually managed to do so on his fourth and final attempt, setting a 1'34"536 to finish third overall, while Hamilton was unable to improve and ended the session fourth with the time he had set earlier on the Medium tyres. Both completed 27 laps, giving the team a total of 54.

Charles and Lewis again began the second session on the Medium tyres before switching to the Softs: Leclerc improved to 1'33"775, the second-fastest time, while Hamilton's 1'33"811, put him third. With just over twenty minutes remaining, the session was red flagged following Arvid Lindblad's crash at Turn 13. When running resumed, with just over ten minutes available, the two Ferraris did longer runs on used tyres: Charles continuing on the Softs and Lewis on the Mediums used at the start of the session. Leclerc completed 26 laps, Hamilton 23, bringing the team's total for the day to 103 laps.

Charles Leclerc: It was exciting to drive on the Madrid circuit today. It's a challenging street track, which is the type I usually enjoy and this one is no exception.

I was quite impressed with the amount of grip there already was, considering that this is a completely new track with not much rubber on it so far. Nevertheless, I expect the track evolution to be big over the course of the weekend.

Our target was to maximise the number of laps and gather as much data as possible today, to get to know the track and prepare for qualifying, which will likely be the key moment of the weekend because overtaking is so difficult here. I look forward to seeing what we can bring home tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton: It's a fun track to drive and FP1 was a good starting point for us. As the day went on, we found it a little more difficult to get the car in the right window, so there are a few things for us to look into, particularly around the balance. It's a new circuit for everyone and we gathered plenty of useful data today, which we'll go through overnight. There are definitely some positives to take and we'll work to make a step forward ahead of qualifying tomorrow.