It picks up exactly where it left off. The first day of free practice in Barcelona restored the “classic” pecking order, with a McLaren in front thanks to the best lap set by Oscar Piastri in 1:12.760. The Australian, in the afternoon session, chose to follow his teammate’s lead also in terms of aerodynamic setup, opting for a lower-downforce rear wing already used in other races.
The move was intended to find a better balance between front and rear, as well as to improve top speeds on the two straights. Oscar Piastri finished on top with almost three tenths of a second over his rivals, starting with George Russell, with a Mercedes trying to get back on track after many issues in Imola and Monte Carlo.
The Silver Arrows arrived here with a new floor, aimed at improving downforce and managing airflow toward the rear. The Briton also showed an interesting race pace, having completed a long stint on the softest compound, which today proved to be the most effective both over short and long distances, offering more grip, while the harder tyres showed more sliding.
Third, over three tenths behind, was Max Verstappen, with a Red Bull struggling with a rather twitchy rear, both for the Dutchman and for Yuki Tsunoda. While the three-time world champion finished third, the Japanese driver could do no better than thirteenth, suffering from excessive tyre sliding.
Fourth was the other McLaren, Lando Norris’s, just twenty thousandths slower than Verstappen, though still over three tenths off his teammate.
Ferrari was further back, only fifth on a flying lap with Charles Leclerc, half a second behind, though it’s worth noting that his fast lap included some mistakes due to an unstable rear that did not always provide proper support. It was not an easy Friday for Lewis Hamilton either, who ended up eleventh, about two tenths behind his Maranello teammate. The Briton complained about a car that was “undriveable.”
Rounding out the top teams in the second free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix was Andrea Kimi Antonelli in sixth, about two and a half tenths behind Russell in the other W16. Completing the top ten were Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly with Alpine, and the two Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.
Alpine often performs well in high-speed corners, where front-end precision is needed: between FP1 and FP2 the French team made a step forward in terms of setup.
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