Spanish GP: Piastri keeps McLaren on top in FP2

Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in Friday's second free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, edging out Mercedes’ George Russell and continuing McLaren’s strong start to the weekend in Barcelona.

The one-hour session at the Circuit de Catalunya unfolded in warm and dry conditions, offering teams an ideal platform to conduct both performance runs and long-distance simulations.

While FP1 had largely been about correlation and evaluation of new upgrades, FP2 gave a clearer picture of single-lap pace – and McLaren was once again the dominating force.

• Spanish Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

Piastri Takes Control Midway Through

The session began with Lando Norris immediately going faster than his FP1-topping time, logging a 1m13.636s on the medium compound.

That early benchmark held until Russell responded after 15 minutes with a 1m13.501, before finding another gear on the softs with a 1m13.046s — placing him momentarily at the top of the leaderboard.

Russell’s effort was trailed closely by rookie team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who clocked in just a quarter of a second behind.

As the pack transitioned to the soft Pirelli compound in the middle part of the session, Verstappen and Norris each posted identical lap times, both just 0.024s shy of Russell’s earlier best.

But Piastri then delivered a flying lap of 1m12.760 on the softest rubber, which vaulted him into first place and ultimately remained unbeaten for the remainder of the session.

The Australian ended the day 0.286s ahead of Russell and 0.310s clear of both Verstappen and Norris, who were inseparable on the stopwatch. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slotted into fifth place, demoting Antonelli to sixth.

Encouraging Signs for Alonso and Alpine

Behind the front-runners, Fernando Alonso gave the home fans something to cheer about by placing his Aston Martin in seventh, suggesting a step forward for the Silverstone squad.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly followed closely in eighth, hinting at improved pace from the French outfit.

Racing Bulls also continued to showed competitive form as Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.

The only disruption during FP2 came courtesy of Oliver Bearman, who spun off into the gravel at Turn 3 early in the session.

The Haas charger required repairs and ended the session down in 19th place, only ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who was at te bottom of the running order throughout.

With Piastri and McLaren continuing to show strong pace, and both Mercedes and Red Bull staying within striking distance, the battle for pole position on Saturday promises to be a tightly contested affair.

The teams will now dive into overnight data analysis as they prepare for tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying.

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