FP2: Antonelli sets the pace ahead of Leclerc during FP2 at the Spanish Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli ended Friday’s running at the Spanish Grand Prix as the fastest driver on track, heading the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the second hour of practice.

The Italian posted an unbeatable time of 1m 33.662s before the session was halted to recover Arvid Lindblad’s damaged Racing Bulls car, and no one was able to better Antonelli’s lap in the closing minutes, giving him an advantage of just over a tenth.

With a limited amount of time to learn the new circuit, all 22 drivers were eager to make the most of Free Practice and begin to push the limits – ideally whilst avoiding the daunting walls that line the Madring.

Unfortunately for Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin confirmed that he would be forced to miss the beginning of the session due to a clutch issue he suffered following his practice starts in FP1.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were the first to head out in the high temperatures, leading a long queue of their competitors before George Russell – who topped the times in FP1 – set an early benchmark of 1m 36.011s.

He was soon demoted down the timesheets as Ferrari continued their impressive showing on the medium tyres, with Leclerc claiming the top spot until the standings leader completed his first effort to go over a second clear.

As is expected on a track with a freshly laid surface, the evolution was notable and Leclerc closed the gap to just 0.001s, ensuring that the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers occupied P1-P4 in the opening 15 minutes.

Despite his impressive lap, his team were struggling in the final sector, where they were significantly down on the likes of Antonelli. But they weren’t the only ones facing issues – McLaren opted to change Lando Norris’ gearbox, restricting him to the garage, while Oscar Piastri complained about a lack of rear grip.

Although the Australian managed to improve on the soft compound, his lap was eclipsed by Lindblad, the Racing Bulls driver having consistently impressed through the first sector to wind up just two tenths off Antonelli’s fastest time.

But the lack of incidents couldn’t last forever, and sadly, it was Lindblad who was the first to be caught out. Coming into Turn 13, he lost the rear and crashed into the barriers to bring an early end to his day at the Madring.

Once the subsequent red flag period concluded, Antonelli remained P1 thanks to his earlier rapid time, leaving him ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton on the timesheets. Lindblad similarly held onto P4 from Russell, Max Verstappen and Piastri.

Yuki Tsunoda was eighth for Racing Bulls, followed by Haas’ Ocon and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson. Pierre Gasly claimed P11, the Frenchman leading the Audi pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, Bearman, Franco Colapinto, and home favourite Carlos Sainz.

Despite his shorter running, Alonso took P17 while Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas completed the order, with Norris unable to set a representative time for McLaren.

With the first day of action in Madrid complete, the teams and drivers will have the chance to delve into their learnings overnight before the final hour of practice takes place at 1230 local time on Saturday, September 12.