F1 LIVE | Follow all the action of the first free practice session in Barcelona

The Barcelona Grand Prix weekend is about to begin. Can Max Verstappen hit his stride this weekend and grab vital points for the title race, or will Mercedes continue to make improvements to their car and start to get a grip on the F1 Championship?

In the fourth weekend of this season, the drivers will tackle the circuit in Barcelona. Max Verstappen has special memories at this circuit having won here on his Red Bull Racing debut. Lewis Hamilton is also strong on this circuit, with five victories to his name including the most recent event in 2020.

While it initially looked like Red Bull came out on top from the winter, Mercedes are now looking more and more competitive from Imola and Portugal. However, given the cold conditions and low grip levels in Portugal, this says little and so maybe the Spanish Grand Prix will provide a clearer picture of the current balance of power between the top two teams.

Although Lewis Hamilton is currently leading the championship, his lead over Verstappen is minimal. The Dutchman needs just eight points to equal the Brit. Every possible point will be fiercely fought over this weekend, a fact that also promises a lot of wheel-to-wheel action for this Grand Prix. But before that moment arrives on Sunday, it's time for the free practice sessions in Barcelona. Follow all the action from the first free practice session here, in our liveblog!

Elsewhere, McLaren and Ferrari are looking like the two strongest candidates for the best of the rest position in the World Championship. Alpine looked strong in Portugal and it will be interesting to see if that result was circuit dependant, or they've made real progress.