Rival racers Norris and Verstappen achieve matching lap times; Piastri leads among them
Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya played host to the Spanish Grand Prix practice sessions, where McLaren's Oscar Piastri topped the time charts ahead of qualification. The championship leader set the fastest time of the day, clocking the best lap of 1:18.720 in his McLaren during the second session under clear skies and 30-degree temperature.
Piastri's teammate, Monaco winner Lando Norris, finished fourth in the first practice but closed the gap to 0.310 seconds in the second session, putting him within a whisker of Red Bull's Max Verstappen in third place. The Mercedes of George Russell occupied the second spot, trailing Piastri by 0.286 seconds.
McLaren's dominance this season has been impressive, with Piastri and Norris notching six wins from the eight races held so far. However, doubts lingered over whether the team's cars had lost their edge due to the tightened front wing regulations and subsequent checks, a topic yet to be clarified after the two one-hour practice sessions.
In the standings, Piastri holds a three-point lead over Norris, with Verstappen trailing in third, 25 points adrift. Nico Hülkenberg ended his day in twelfth position for Sauber.
Enrichment Data: The new FIA flexi-wing restrictions, ostensibly aimed at certain teams, seemed to have minimal impact on McLaren's performance at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix. This was underscored by Piastri's pole position and race win, and Norris' second-place finish, marking a front-row lockout in qualifying and a 1-2 finish in the race. The only mention of the new regulations regarding flexible front wings came as a note about Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, not McLaren. This suggests McLaren’s car performance was not adversely affected by the regulatory changes for this event.
Sports dominated the conversation as the Spanish Grand Prix practice sessions took place at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the racing action seeing McLaren's Oscar Piastri leading the pack. In the second practice session, Piastri's teammate, Lando Norris, closed the gap significantly to Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, showing strong performance in sports car racing.
