Ahead of today's opening session, the air temperature is 20 degrees C, while the track temperature is 32 degrees.

In terms of updates, McLaren has a new Floor, Rear Suspension and Rear Wing. The new floor edge geometry, will result in better flow control around the rear tyres aimed at improved floor and rear corner aerodynamic load. The new fairing around the rear suspension mounting will result in improved flow conditioning around the rear impact structure aimed at improved diffuser performance. Finally, the new rear wing geometry features revised mainplane and flap elements, which will gain aerodynamic load throughout all conditions while maintaining efficiency.

Mercedes has new Bodywork and new Front Wing and Rear Wing. Down-washing the bodywork pulls high energy flow down onto the rear of the car, while the high inlet increases the stream tube to the rear floor. Increasing the element chamber increases the front wing load, with the spanwise loading chosen to optimise the onset flow to the floor. The increased rear wing camber is to increase wing load, with the chord of the elements optimised to find the right balance between Straightline Mode (SLM) closed Cz and SLM open Cx.

Red Bull has a new Front Wing, Nose and Rear Wing. The nose profile has been revised by regulation and the need for SM actuation of the front wing flap or flaps with concurrent or separate balance adjusters. ORBR design places all the adjustments within the nose box. The rear wing is mandated to be supported on two pylons intersecting the underside of the mainplane. One or two element flap assembly actuating to engage SM and reduce drag. Chord length of the mainplane is to team design and the endplates have returned to be perpendicular panels at the ends of the elements. ORBR design places the actuator on centreline.

Ferrari has a new Front Wing, Floor and Rear Wing. There is a significant geometrical difference compared to previous generation of cars in terms of the front wing. Design focus has been on optimizing balance range and aerodynamic characteristics around the new 2026 regulations, whilst properly integrating the newly introduced SM system, with a centreline actuator solution retained for us and that rotates the 2 flap elements together. The transition between 2025 and 2026 represents a significant shift in underfloor aerodynamic philosophy. By making the floor flatter and with less authority on front vortical structures as well as the removal of complex floor edges, the main development focus has been on understanding how to extract maximum performance across the entire car operating envelope. A key aspect for this new era has been on developing a top rear wing solution around a three-element arrangement without relying on interactions with the lower beam wing, which was a dominant factor with the 2025 topology. Given the importance of SM mode in 2026, maximizing SM effect has been a point of focus.

Racing Bulls have a new Floor, Coke/Engine Cover, Cooling Louvres and Rear Corner. The updated forward floor components improve the flow quality under the floor, allowing the floor to generate more downforce. Airflow to the rear of the car has been improved by modifying the flow-field around the bodywork, allowing the rear wing to work more effectively. Opening or closing the louvres in the bodywork allows the cooling level for the engine to be tuned to the circuit conditions. Finally, additional downforce is generated on the rear corner by the winglets around the suspension, at an efficiency suitable for the circuit characteristics.

Aston Martin has a new Front Wing, Front Wing Endplate, Nose, Sidepod Inlet, Coke/Engine Cover, Diffuser and Rear Wing. The new front wing optimises spanwise loading whilst delivering the required aerobalance range, which is achieved varying incidence of the rear element, the new endplate manages the circulation at the tip of the wing and positions downstream features around the front tyre. The volume of the nose is created to guide the upstream flow around the central front wing elements and manage the upwash from the wing. The purpose of the diffuser is to manage the expansion of the flow from beneath the floor creating load on the lower surface. The winglet is adapted to the local flow-field to maximise performance. Finally, in CM (Cornering Mode) the rear wing is optimised to provide maximum load while remaining stable and consistent. The SM deployment angle is defined to reduce drag as much as possible.

Haas has a new Front Wing, Front Wing Endplate, Floor, Floor Edge, Diffuser, Rear Wing and Beam Wing. The Haas features a three-element wing. The newly introduced SM Adjuster is positioned on the centreline beneath the nose and actuates both flap elements. The geometries have been optimized to deliver high load in Corner Mode and reduced drag in Straight Mode. The 2026 floor architecture features a predominantly flat underbody, with only a limited allowance for front inboard devices and a floorboard as defined by the regulations. Haas' geometry incorporates a substantial vertical vane to condition and manage the tyre-wake structures, complemented by a series of horizontal aerofoils that promote localised load extraction. This combination enhances vortex stability, preserves floor sealing, and improves the underfloor mass-flow distribution. The 2026 diffuser incorporates a single primary fence per side, while the FIA-mandated outboard devices - previously mounted to the rear corner assemblies up to 2025 - are now integrated directly into the outboard diffuser structure. The central expansion volume extends laterally alongside the rear impact structure, maximising underfloor mass-flow extraction and enhancing the diffuser's overall pressure-recovery efficiency. Haas employs a three-element upper rear-wing assembly, with the SM mechanism providing simultaneous actuation of both flap elements. The mainplane is configured with a relatively low camber, while the flap cluster adopts an aggressive geometry to maximise downforce generation in CM. In SM, the system targets a substantial drag reduction by unloading the flap pair and exploiting the flat mainplane to minimise pressure-drag contribution.

Alpine has a new Front Wing, Coke/Engine Cover and Rear Wing. The front wing has been completely redesigned to tackle the challenge of the new regulations. Its objective remains to produce load in CM, but also ensure drag is reduced at higher speeds, on the straights when in SM. The bodywork has been designed to accommodate the new '26 power unit and ensure its cooling. It has also been designed with the objective of delivering high quality flow towards the rear end in all operating conditions. With no beam wing in 2026, and new regulations allowing the rear wing to be in SM in most of the straight lines, the rear wing was completely redesigned to ensure load is generated without any local flow field instabilities.

Audi has a new Front Wing, Sidepod Inlet and Sidepod Body. Audi's approach is focused on matching the desired flow conditions aft of the front wing for the front suspension and bodywork immediately behind it. The separate SLM actuators for each side of the front wing flap are part of that intent. The German solution to the cooling inlets and front of sidepod geometry is unique, it is a philosophy which links with how the floor and bodywork aft of the sidepod front work as an aerodynamic system from front to back. Most teams encourage a level of "down-wash" for the main body of the sidepods, which is generated by the upper surface sloping downwards towards the back of the car, whilst also generating "in-wash" through a narrowing of the bodywork towards the back of the car. The Audi's sidepods are heavily down-wash biased - possibly the most extreme on the grid, whilst other have found a different compromise or reverted to a heavy in-wash bias.

Cadillac has a new Front Wing, Front Wing Endplate and Rear Wing. The debutants have revised the front flap design with an updated spanwise load distribution to enhance overall front wing performance and improve balance characteristics. The Updated design of the endplate is to enhance the aerodynamic load characteristics of the front wing, reduce sensitivity to varying operating conditions, and deliver more consistent and predictable performance across a range of speeds and flow environments. For the rear wing, improved yaw characteristics whilst being designed to maximise aerodynamic load when cornering and maximise the drag reduction when SLM is active.

In an ominous sign, in the moments before the start of the session, Alonso is still in civvies.

The lights go green, the season is underway and Hulkenberg is first out in the Audi, followed by Ocon, Bearman, Hamilton and Antonelli.

With all those updates there is an understandable amount of flo-vis and also a few aero rakes.

Watching on from the back of the Cadillac garage is the legend that is Mario Andretti.

"I've got no power," reports Piastri, "I'm idling." Elsewhere, Lindblad has stopped at the end of the pitlane.

The VSC is deployed.

"I've got power again," reports Piastri.

Ocon posts a 34.589 and Hamilton a 42.820.

As the VSC is withdrawn, and Lindblad is pushed back to his garage, Piastri insists that "something's not right", the only driver yet to appear is Alonso.

"Downshifts are shocking," reports Norris. "All shifts are not right," he adds.

"We found a suspected power unit-related issue which will prevent car #14 (Alonso) from participating in FP1," confirms Honda.

No sooner has Antonelli posted a 24.363 to go top than Verstappen responds with a 22.920. Hadjar posts a 24.147.

According to Race Control, Bortoleto has exceeded track limits at Turn 10.

Antonelli posts a 22.812 and Leclerc a 22.322, only for Verstappen to stop the clock at 22.305.

Hmm, Russell has his time deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 9.

Stroll and Sainz are on hards while the rest are on mediums.

Quickest in the opening two sectors, Leclerc goes top with a 22.080.

With 45 minutes remaining, still no times from Hulkenberg, Lindblad, Bortoleto, Norris or Bottas.

Quickest in the final two sectors, Hadjar crosses the line at 21.888.

As an indicator, the fastest time in FP1 last year was a 17.252, posted by Norris.

Antonelli and Verstappen have their times deleted as Leclerc improves to 21.635.

A 21.966 sees Hamilton go third, as Russell goes sixth, ahead of Bortoleto, Lawson and Ocon.

A 21.460 from Hadjar as Bottas complains that he got "fully blocked" by his former teammate Hamilton.

Verstappen retakes the top spot with a 21.403 as Piastri heads out again.

Sainz is causing all sorts of issues as he gets in the way of a number of drivers including Lindblad who is back on track.

A 21.227 from Leclerc as Colapinto runs wide in Turn 3.

With just under half the session remaining, Russell is the first driver to switch to softs. He can only improve to fifth, 0.890s off Leclerc's pace.

More drivers switch to the red-banded rubber including the Red Bull pair and Antonelli.

Verstappen improves to 20.908 and his teammate to 21.087, as Perez loses one of his mirrors. The Mexican is currently 5.2s off the pace, having only completed 7 laps. Teammate Bottas is 4.6s off the pace after 10 laps.

On the other hand, fellow debutants Audi, has both of its drivers in the top ten.

On softs, Hamilton improves to fourth with a 21.295, as McLaren reveals that a gearbox change means Norris' session is over.

A 20.789 from Verstappen as Leclerc improves to 20.829. The top four, which includes Hadjar and Hamilton, is covered by 0.373.

"Wow! That was a big lock-up," reports Hadjar as Hamilton runs wide.

Quickest in the final two sectors, courtesy of a two from Gasly bon the final straight, Hamilton goes top with a 20.736.

"I've lost power steering and everything" reports Albon as he stops at Turn 10. He's told that it's a hydraulics issue.

The VSC is deployed again.

"Lance's session has come to an end due to a suspected PU related issue," reports Aston Martin. "The issues on both cars are being investigated further."

Perez has improved to 18th with a 24.620, ahead of Gasly and Bottas.

Bortoleto improves to seventh with a 21.696, just 0.3s off the pace of the Mercedes pair.

On softs, Piastri improves to 8th with a 21.938, as Perez spins off at Turn 4.

"I'm having a lot of engine braking," reports the Mexican. "That was a big one there."

A late charge sees Lindblad go fifth with a 21.313. Lawson is currently 13th on 22.613.

Piastri goes quickest in S1 but subsequently loses time as Leclerc goes top with a 20.267. Piastri crosses the line at 21.342 to go sixth.

The session ends, Leclerc is quickest, ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen, Hadjar, Lindblad, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, Bortoleto and Hulkenberg.

Ocon is eleventh, ahead of Sainz, Lawson, Bearman, Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Gasly, Norris and Perez.