Norris Tops Barcelona Practice
Lando Norris Edges Russell by Milliseconds in Tightly Contested Barcelona FP2
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Key Points
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Norris missed FP1 because McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli drove in an F1 session for the first time, before Norris returned for FP2.
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Oscar Piastri became the first driver to go sub-1m16 during the session, posting a 1m15.724 on the medium tyre before Norris and Russell later attacked on softs.
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A brief Virtual Safety Car was triggered approaching the 20-minute mark after Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls stopped exiting the pit lane; the car was recovered and Verstappen then became the first to switch to soft tyres.
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Max Verstappen criticized the hard tyre running as “horrendous,” and was the only driver to complete meaningful mileage—nine laps—on hard compounds.
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Kimi Antonelli specifically said his brake pedal “felt horrible” in the late stages, adding that he was going too long—details beyond just general brake discomfort.
Lando Norris topped Free Practice 2 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Friday, setting a 1m 15.426s on soft tyres to beat George Russell by just 0.009s, according to Motorsport.com. Oscar Piastri completed an all-McLaren-and-Mercedes top three, finishing a further 0.048s back in third.
The result is a strong signal for McLaren heading into qualifying. Norris managed the quick lap despite missing Free Practice 1 entirely, where McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli made his Formula 1 debut in Norris's car, F1i reported.
Norris Edges Russell in a Razor-Thin Battle
Russell had led the session for much of its second half, setting a 1m 15.435s on softs. But Norris found an extra 0.009s with his own soft-tyre run to snatch top spot, F1i reported. The gap between the top three was just 0.057 seconds — a sign that McLaren and Mercedes are closely matched at this circuit.
Piastri had earlier become the first driver to go sub-1m 16s in the session, posting a 1m 15.724s on the medium tyre, according to Auto Action. That run showed McLaren's pace was real across both tyre compounds — a clear improvement after a difficult Monaco weekend.
Verstappen Calls Hard Tyre Running 'Horrendous'
Max Verstappen was the only front-runner to complete meaningful mileage on the hard compound — nine laps — and he was deeply unhappy with the result. "I have understeer in one corner, but oversteer in the next. The car's behavior is just horrendous," Verstappen said, according to Auto Action. He ended the session sixth, nearly 0.9 seconds off Norris's pace.
The session was briefly interrupted by a Virtual Safety Car around the 20-minute mark after Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls stopped at the pit exit with a gearbox failure. Lawson reported: "It's off, I have nothing. The dash just says 'engine stop,'" according to Head Topics. Verstappen then became the first driver to switch to soft tyres once the VSC ended.
Ferrari's Upgrade Package Brings New Problems
Ferrari arrived in Barcelona with a major aero overhaul, including a new front wing and redesigned sidepods. But the upgrade created fresh headaches. Lewis Hamilton reported that "something is wrong with the rear" and that "the car is dragging down the straight," leaving him ninth on the timesheet, 0.9 seconds off the pace. Ferrari mechanics were seen adjusting the front wing mid-session, according to SI.com.
Charles Leclerc was quicker than Hamilton but still finished 0.373s off Norris in fourth. If Ferrari cannot fix the drag issue overnight, the team may revert to an older wing specification for qualifying on Saturday, Motorsport.com noted.
Antonelli Reports Brake Trouble as Mercedes Splits Form
Kimi Antonelli, who leads the 2026 drivers' championship, finished fifth but was 0.589s off the pace. He flagged a specific problem: "The brake pedal felt horrible, it was going so long... I was going too long into Turn 10," he said. The issue points to a potential problem with Mercedes' brake-by-wire system under the high thermal stress of a 50°C track, according to F1i.
Russell's near-perfect session in contrast to Antonelli's struggles shows that Mercedes has not fully sorted its 2026 car across both seats. With track temperatures creating tyre degradation of roughly 0.3 seconds per lap, Auto Action reported that teams are planning for a mandatory two-stop race on Sunday — and Red Bull may avoid the hard compound altogether after Verstappen's data.
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