It was a positive day for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team with Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc, who used the first day of free practices ahead of the 2018 FIA Formula 1 Emirates Spanish Grand Prix to focus on mechanical set-up work and testing new aerodynamic parts. Both drivers were happy with their cars, and put in a good performance. Tyre management will be the main challenge for tomorrow's qualifying – the team has shown strong potential for a good performance in Sunday's race.

Marcus Ericsson: "It was a positive day for us today. We tested some new aerodynamics parts on our cars, and worked with different tyre compounds. We were quite competitive on the soft tyres, and were running within the top ten. After changing to the softer compound, we struggled a bit to improve the lap times. We have some work ahead of us here in terms of tyre management. If we find a way to make a jump with the softer tyres, we should be doing well tomorrow and on Sunday."

Charles Leclerc: "It was a good day overall. We completed different tests, and set up the car to suit the the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya layout. Our performance is better than expected for this type of track, which is a good sign. It shows us that we have made good progress since the winter tests at beginning of season. We have to continue to work hard now and continue making improvements throughout the weekend. I look forward to tomorrow's sessions."

Check out our Friday gallery from Barcelona, here.