Piastri leads for McLaren in Spanish Grand Prix practice
The Formula 1 championship leader, Oscar Piastri, kept McLaren at the top during the second practice of the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, after his teammate and rival, Lando Norris, set the pace in the first session.The Australian completed the Circuit de Catalunya with a record time of 1:12.760, following Norris’s best time, winner in Monaco last Sunday, of 1:13.718 in the afternoon heat.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull was second and third respectively in the sessions, while George Russell of Mercedes was Piastri’s closest rival in the second practice, 0.286 seconds behind, with Norris in fourth place (+0.310).
Norris has reduced the gap to Piastri in the standings to just three points after eight of 24 rounds and will regain the lead on Sunday if he wins.
Verstappen, who secured his first F1 victory at this circuit in 2016, missed about 20 minutes of the first session, while the mechanics worked to change the rear suspension of his car.
Ferrari’s six-time Spanish Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton, equaling the record, was third on the timesheet in the first practice, but only eleventh later, while his teammate Charles Leclerc was fifth fastest.
The new front wings required to comply with stricter flex tests introduced for the Spanish weekend were seen for the first time on Friday, but there were no immediate indications of any significant change.
Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, was sixth in the second practice, with Fernando Alonso, from Aston Martin, in seventh place and Pierre Gasly, from Alpine, in eighth.I think it will take more than one session to see if there is an impact. Or if there is, how it has affected the different cars.
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
The Racing Bulls duo, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, finished ninth and tenth in the time sheets.
The first session featured two young drivers gaining experience, with F2 French driver Victor Martins replacing Alex Albon at Williams and Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa for Esteban Ocon at Haas.
