Piastri Secures Top Spot in Barcelona FP2
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri delivered a standout performance in the second practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix, clocking a lap of 1m12.760s to lead the field. The young Australian, who is currently leading the championship, set his benchmark midway through the hour-long session, pushing past Mercedes’ George Russell.
Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, initiated the session with a strong early pace, lowering his FP1 time to a 1m13.636s on medium tires. He initially led ahead of Max Verstappen and Russell. Russell, however, asserted his speed with a lap of 1m13.046s on Pirelli’s softest compound after 23 minutes, momentarily taking the lead before Piastri responded.
As the session progressed, Piastri’s time remained unchallenged, giving him a 0.286s advantage over Russell. Verstappen and Norris rounded out the top three, both finishing 0.310s off the lead. Charles Leclerc managed to secure fifth place for Ferrari, overtaking Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who finished sixth.
Fernando Alonso, racing on home turf for Aston Martin, achieved a commendable seventh place, while Pierre Gasly from Alpine completed the top eight. The duo of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson from Racing Bulls rounded out the top ten.
The only incident of note was Haas rookie Oliver Bearman, who spun into the gravel at Turn 3, finishing FP2 in 19th place.
The teams will reconvene for final practice at 12:30 local time on Saturday, followed by qualifying three and a half hours later.
