When the second practice hour ahead of the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix came to a close, there was a different feel around the sport.
After months of dominance from Mercedes, was McLaren truly back in the fight?
Lando Norris topped the second hour of practice, nipping George Russell atop the timing sheets by just 0.009 seconds. Then his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, clocked in third.
Meanwhile Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who slotted in fifth, more than a half-second behind Norris’ pace, conceded after the session that it was not going to be “easy” in Barcelona.
“Definitely George looks very quick, McLaren look very quick as well so it’s not going to be easy,” said Antonelli to the official F1 channel. “We’ll try to understand from tonight’s work and we’ll try to be ready for tomorrow.”
He added: “It’s been a bit tricky, single lap. The window is so small, tyres are overheating quite a lot.
“[I’m] just trying to find the best balance, of course with only one lap it’s difficult, but I think overall there’s still work to do, quite a bit, but I’m quite confident ahead of tomorrow.”
Antonelli sat out the first hour of practice, giving way to Mercedes test driver Fred Vesti for one of the require rookie sessions.
Can Norris convert a strong Friday into pole today? Or will Mercedes fight back in Barcelona? We will find out in a few hours, as qualifying begins at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and we will be following all the action here live!
F1 qualifying results: Barcelona
Here is the provisional starting grid, which will be filled in throughout the qualifying session:
| Row | Position | Driver | Team | Position | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| Row 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Row 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||
| Row 4 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Row 5 | 9 | 10 | ||||
| Row 6 | 11 | 12 | ||||
| Row 7 | 13 | 14 | ||||
| Row 8 | 15 | 16 | ||||
| Row 9 | 17 | 18 | ||||
| Row 10 | 19 | 20 | ||||
| Row 11 | 21 | 22 |
