Spanish Grand Prix: Practice Recap

Round 10 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship began with Friday practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as teams prepared for Sunday’s 66-lap Spanish Grand Prix.

The 60-minute opening practice session, FP1, saw MoneyGram Haas F1 Team take to the track with Kevin Magnussen and reserve driver Oliver Bearman – the Ferrari Driver Academy member participating in the second of his six scheduled FP1 outings this season.

Both drivers sampled the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium for their maiden stints. Bearman switched to the Red soft compound after 13 laps – the 19-year-old British F2 racer going on to set a best lap of 1:15.865 (P19). Magnussen switched to the softest rubber after 15 laps and the Dane banked a fastest effort of 1:15.644 (P17). They both ended with high-fuel runs on the medium tires though to the checkered flag.

FP2 saw Hulkenberg back behind the wheel of the VF-24 and alongside Magnussen they started the session running on the medium tire. Bolting the soft rubber on next for their Quali sims, each driver set their respective fastest lap time – Magnussen clocking a 1:14.021 (P11) with Hulkenberg recording a 1:14.053 (P12). Friday’s run program concluded with high-fuel stints, Magnussen sticking with his soft set while Hulkenberg returned to the medium compound.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 120 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 29 from Bearman, 29 with Hulkenberg and 62 from Magnussen.

Nico Hulkenberg:

“It was a smooth session with no problems, but only FP2 for me today. I felt relatively good straight away with the car, certainly over one lap. In the long runs, I think we have some work to do as we need to find some harmony and balance somehow. My initial thought is that our one lap pace is definitely stronger for us, but in Barcelona the race is long and if you don’t have a good race car, it’s going to be a long, tough race. We’ll take it from here and see what the weekend has to offer.”

Kevin Magnussen:

“I think today has gone okay, but most importantly the long runs looked decent for me, but I haven’t seen any data or lap times. Barcelona used to be the baseline track for the season, but we have more and more street tracks these days, so these circuits are becoming less and less similar to the average track. In the high-speed sections, we didn’t expect to be that good around here, so I’m excited to see whether we can maintain this level of competitiveness or if it was the circumstances at the time.”

Oliver Bearman:

“It was nice to get back into the VF-24 here in Barcelona. I really enjoyed myself, it was nice to get back-up to speed again in a Formula 1 car and see the capabilities on a track like this, especially with a lot of high-speed corners. We completed the program that we wanted to, which is the main goal, and I felt really happy and confident in the car. I’m already looking forward to the next one in Silverstone.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“Overall, I think it was a good day. In FP1 we had some aero testing to collect some data which we completed. Ollie was in the car and as before he did a very good, so we can’t fault him. In FP2, Nico was back in the car alongside Kevin, and I think we made some good changes between FP1 and FP2 with Kevin’s feedback, as we modified his set-up a little bit. Long run pace looked decent as well as low fuel pace. We’ve got more work to do tonight but it’s a good start to the weekend.”

Today's Data:

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Spanish Grand Prix – Friday June 21
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
Layout: 4.657-kilometer (2.893-mile), 14-turn circuit
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Sunny
Drivers: Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen