LIVE: Spanish Grand Prix FP1

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Follow live coverage of the first free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix with F1i.

The opening session of the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona will see the first official outing of Max Verstappen in a Red Bull car after his surprise promotion from the sister Toro Rosso team in the interval since the Russian Grand Prix.

LIVE: Spanish Grand Prix - FP1

Heading in the other direction is Daniil Kvyat, who will return to the team where he started his Formula 1 career. While the move came after the young Russian twice made contact with team old boy Sebastian Vettel in Sochi, Vettel himself says the Verstappen/Kvyat exchange had been on the cards before the last race.

So all eyes will be on how Verstappen and Kvyat handle their change in circumstances, but beyond that it should be a fascinating weekend as it'll be our best chance so far this season to see how all the teams really compare on what's the closest thing the sport has to a level playing field. The 2.892-mile, 16-turn circuit is used by the FIA for winter pre-season testing to help develop the cars, and the teams are also in reach of their respective headquarters for quick and easy access to the latest upgrades and improvements.

Will any of this get in the way of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg claiming his eighth consecutive Grand Prix win? If he pulls it off he'll break a current tie with Alberto Ascari and Michael Schumacher, and put himself just one behind all-time record holder Sebastian Vettel. Vettel will be one of those out to stop Rosberg winning on Sunday, but the biggest threat is likely to be his own team mate Lewis Hamilton who is determined to get his title defence back on track.

It all starts here with Friday morning's Free Practice 1 session at 10am local time (9am BST) and we'll be bringing you all the news and information from trackside as it happens on F1i's live page, which has been upgraded for an even better user experience.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.