Spanish Grand Prix

Kim Kardashian sends a personalised towel to Formula 1 points leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Barcelona as a playful apology for the so‑called Monaco ‘towel-gate’ mix-up. The moment underlines how celebrity culture increasingly brushes up against the pressures on F1’s new young star.

Lando Norris tops Friday practice in Barcelona as Pirelli’s softer tyre selection points towards a strategic, two-stop Spanish Grand Prix. Teams face a delicate balance between outright pace and managing extreme thermal degradation.

Max Verstappen said Red Bull’s problems in Barcelona are tied to tyre performance after he finished sixth in second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. He described a lack of grip and balance as the team looks for answers before qualifying.

Ferrari arrive in Barcelona with a heavily revised SF-26 aero package, targeting a step towards Mercedes in Formula 1’s new 2026 era. McLaren and Red Bull also bring fresh front wings in a pivotal development round.

Sergio Perez briefly delivers Cadillac’s first Formula 1 point with P10 in Monaco, only to lose it to a post‑race penalty for a grid infringement. The setback underlines the learning curve for the debutant constructor and increases pressure on the Mexican ahead of Barcelona.

Charles Leclerc will run the same brake specification as Lewis Hamilton on his Ferrari during first practice in Barcelona, as the team searches for a fix to Leclerc’s recent stopping troubles. The comparison could shape Ferrari’s technical direction for the rest of the season.

Lewis Hamilton will sit out first practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, with Ferrari reserve Dino Beganovic taking over in FP1 amid a wider wave of rookie outings across the grid.

Formula 1’s new active aerodynamics system comes back into play at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with four deployment zones designed to boost overtaking after a weekend without the technology in Monaco.

MotorLand Aragón will host MotoGP in 2027 before shifting to reserve-race status between 2028 and 2031, reshaping Spain’s footprint on the world championship calendar.

Williams reserve driver Luke Browning will contest FP1 in Barcelona and at the Red Bull Ring, stepping in for Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz as part of the team’s young driver programme.

Max Verstappen will receive a new engine for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona after an internal combustion engine failure prematurely ended his Monaco Grand Prix challenge. The issue was detected during the warm-up lap, preventing the former world champion from even starting the race.

The Ferrari driver hit the wall on his final qualifying attempt, ending his hopes of pole position at his home race.