Piastri leads in Montmeló: Alonso and Sainz in the fight
Australian Oscar Piastri (McLaren) dominated the second free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, the ninth race of the Formula One World Championship, held at the Montmeló circuit (Barcelona). Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) also stood out, placing seventh and fourteenth, respectively. Argentinian Franco Colapinto (Alpine) was twentieth.
Piastri, current championship leader and with four victories this year, completed the 4.675-meter Catalan track in a time of 1 minute, 12 seconds, and 760 milliseconds in his best lap of the 28 he completed. He beat the English George Russell (Mercedes) by 286 milliseconds and the four-time world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who positioned himself third, by 310.
Lando Norris (McLaren) recorded the same time as Verstappen, finishing in the same position in the time sheets. Both drivers set their times on soft tires before simulating the race.Fernando Alonso, after overcoming the problems of the first practice, achieved the seventh best time in the afternoon session, where the fastest laps of the day were recorded. The two-time world champion, new ambassador of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, completed 28 laps and was 541 thousandths of a second behind Piastri in his best attempt.
Carlos Sainz finished fourteenth. The driver from Madrid, who has scored points in his last four races, completed 34 laps and was 961 thousandths of a second behind the leader of the World Championship on his fastest lap. The session took place with 29 degrees Celsius ambient temperature and 43 on the asphalt, without major incidents, except for a spin by Olvier Bearman (Haas).Franco Colapinto, 21, in his third race after his return to F1, set the twentieth fastest time of the afternoon session, one second and 543 thousandths behind Piastri.
