RUSSELL WARNS MADRID F1 CIRCUIT OFFERS LESS MARGIN THAN MONACO

George Russell has described Formula 1's new Madrid street circuit as presenting greater risks than Monaco despite lower speeds, citing the combination of fast corners and barriers positioned close to the track. The Mercedes driver set the pace in first practice at the Madring, a circuit built around an exhibition centre near Madrid's airport, finishing 0.286 seconds ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell singled out Turns Five, Seven and 17 as particularly challenging, noting that lock-ups at these corners leave drivers facing walls directly in front of them.

Russell explained his assessment by contrasting the circuit with Monaco, where drivers travel more slowly and have greater opportunity to recover from mistakes. "Here, there's a lot of really fast corners and the barriers are almost coming onto the track," he said. "If you are to go wide and hit the wall, you're not hitting it at the same angle the car is going." He drew comparisons to the street circuits at Baku and Jeddah, citing sections where braking whilst cornering creates lock-up risk. Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver, described the Madring as a "car-killer", adding that the circuit's kerbs and layout present particular difficulties for his team's car.

First practice ran without major incidents, though several drivers including Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc brushed the barriers. Ferrari initially set the pace on medium tyres before Mercedes demonstrated superior pace on the soft compound. The Spanish Grand Prix marks the first Formula 1 race held at the new circuit.