Friday Report - Piastri keeps McLaren on top

Oscar Piastri
© McLaren

McLaren maintained its hold over the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend as Oscar Piastri led the second free practice session in Barcelona, following up on team-mate Lando Norris’s earlier dominance in FP1.

After Norris went quickest in the opening session, Piastri stepped up in FP2 to underline McLaren’s form, setting the fastest lap of the day with a 1m12.760s. The Australian’s benchmark came midway through the hour-long session on soft tyres and remained unbeaten as teams transitioned to race simulations in the closing stages.

Norris had resumed McLaren’s strong pace by immediately eclipsing his FP1 time with a 1m13.636s on the medium compound early in the session. He was soon bettered by George Russell, who posted a 1m13.501s before switching to softs and clocking a 1m13.046s—briefly the fastest time of the weekend.

Russell’s rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued to impress, lapping just 0.250s slower to temporarily sit second. Max Verstappen and Norris responded with identical times of 1m13.046s, matching Russell’s lap to the thousandth of a second and tying for third at that point.

It was Piastri, however, who decisively moved clear of the pack with his 1m12.760s flyer, ending the session 0.286s clear of Russell. Verstappen and Norris finished the session tied in third, 0.310s behind the McLaren driver.

Charles Leclerc placed fifth for Ferrari, just ahead of Antonelli in sixth. Fernando Alonso delivered a solid performance in front of his home crowd, putting Aston Martin seventh on the timesheets. Pierre Gasly was eighth in the Alpine, followed by Racing Bulls pair Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

The only incident came from Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, who spun into the gravel at Turn 3 early in the session. He avoided major damage but spent much of FP2 in the garage and ended 19th, ahead of only Alpine driver Franco Colapinto.

Final practice will begin at 12:30 local time on Saturday, with qualifying set for 16:00. McLaren’s strong one-lap pace makes them favourites heading into the weekend, but rivals Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari remain within striking distance.