Kimi Antonelli continued his strong form at the Spanish Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in the second free practice session (FP2) at the Madring circuit on Friday afternoon. The Mercedes driver clocked a lap of 1m33.662s, beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third respectively.
The 5.4km Madring circuit, a mix of street sections and a purpose-built loop with high-speed corners and minimal run-off, posed a significant challenge for all drivers. Teams took a conservative approach in FP1, but in FP2, drivers began to push harder while still exercising caution.
Antonelli led early on medium tyres before Max Verstappen briefly took over. The Italian then reclaimed the top spot with a 1m33.926s lap, just ahead of teammate George Russell, who had topped FP1. As the session reached its halfway point, most drivers switched to soft tyres, but maintaining optimal temperatures proved difficult due to the high lateral loads.
The session was interrupted when Arvid Lindblad, the Racing Bulls rookie, lost control of his car at Turn 13, a medium-speed left-hander, and hit the barriers. Lindblad was unharmed, but the session was red-flagged with 25 minutes remaining as marshals repaired the damaged TecPro barrier.
Due to the stoppage, there were no further improvements at the top. Antonelli remained fastest ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Lindblad, despite his crash, held fourth, followed by Russell and Verstappen. Meanwhile, reigning world champion Oscar Piastri had to settle for seventh after a difficult day for McLaren.
With this result, Antonelli strengthens his position as the championship leader, while his rivals face an uphill battle. The challenging Madring circuit is expected to test all teams throughout the weekend.
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