The race weekend of the Spanish Grand Prix 2025 has officially started, and the first free practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya immediately provided interesting developments. Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, announced after the session that he was satisfied with how his Red Bull RB21 performed. Yet it was Lando Norris who set the show with his McLaren stable and the fastest time, which immediately kept the competition on.
The Grand Prix of Spain marks a crucial moment in the Formula 1 season of 2025. This year the FIA has implemented an important change of rule with regard to the front wings, a subject that has been providing controversy since 2024. Last year, McLaren and Mercedes introduced a flexible front wing, which, according to competitors such as Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, intervened against the spirit of the rules. The FIA approved the wing at the time, but after continuing discussions it was decided just before the 2025 season to ban these flexible designs – from the ninth race, the Grand Prix of Spain. Teams were given until the end of May to adjust their front wings, while the FIA developed new, stricter tests to prevent teams from circumventing the rules.
The first free practice in Spain was therefore of great importance. The new tests for the front wings were officially introduced, and all eyes were aimed at how the teams would adapt to this change. McLaren, which in 2024 gained a lot of benefits from their flexible design, was under pressure. But the British racing stable showed that they had little trouble with the change in line. Lando Norris was super fast from the start and dominated the session, both on the hard and on the soft tires.
During the first runs, on the hard C1 band, Norris set for a time that was two and a half tenths faster than that of Verstappen. This was striking, since McLaren clocked their time early in the session, which pointed to a strong basic adjustment of the MCL39. Verstappen, who still looked for his Red Bull RB21, could not match the speed of his British rival in this phase. Norris also remained the competition on the soft tires. With an impressive 1: 13,718, he was almost four tenths faster than Verstappen, which finished second. Lewis Hamilton followed just a hundredth of Verstappen, while Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda completed the top six.
After the fast rounds, the teams quickly switched to testing long runs to investigate how the cars performed with the new front wings with a full fuel tank. However, Verstappen was struggling with a small setback. His team made some adjustments to the back of the RB21, so that he stayed in the pits longer than his competitors. Only with less than ten minutes to go in the session, he returned to the track, allowing him to ride only a short lung run. This limited its possibilities to further fine tune the adjustment of the car during VT1.
The fast times of Norris and the strong performance of McLaren ensure a promising weekend for the team from Woking. For Verstappen and Red Bull there is still work to be done, although the Dutchman remains optimistic. “The car felt good, and we have two more training sessions to optimize everything,” he said afterwards. The battle between McLaren, Red Bull and the other top teams promises to be exciting, especially now that the new rules are the
