Kimi Antonelli responded to Mercedes teammate George Russell's FP1 dominance by topping the timesheets in FP2 at the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring. The session also saw the first red flag of the weekend after Arvid Lindblad suffered a heavy crash.
Antonelli set a best time of 1:33.662, narrowly beating Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third respectively. Lindblad, the Racing Bulls driver, continued to impress with fourth place, just ahead of Russell. However, his session ended prematurely when he lost control at Turn 13 and slammed into the barriers, bringing out a red flag.
Fernando Alonso faced a late start due to clutch issues carried over from FP1, eventually finishing 17th. Meanwhile, Lando Norris suffered a gearbox failure on his McLaren MCL40. The team replaced the gearbox, but Norris was unable to return to the track.
Session Report
Ferrari set the early pace with Leclerc lapping in 1:35.557, slightly quicker than Hamilton. But Antonelli soon asserted himself, going under 1:34.5 to take the top spot. Norris's session was cut short by his gearbox problem, while Max Verstappen briefly went fastest before having his time deleted for track limits, dropping him to eighth.
Alonso finally joined the session midway through after his clutch issue was resolved. Lindblad's crash occurred with just over 20 minutes remaining, causing a red flag. His teammate Liam Lawson also had a minor moment at Turn 21. After the restart, Verstappen reported heavier steering, and Lawson remained in the garage.
In the closing stages, Lance Stroll was told to go slow due to an issue on his Aston Martin. Antonelli remained unchallenged at the top. This result gives Mercedes a boost ahead of qualifying, while Ferrari showed strong pace.
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Kimi Antonelli fastest in FP2 for 2026 F1 Spanish GP in Madrid, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Norris set no time due to gearbox issue.
Lando Norris missed FP2 at the Spanish GP due to a gearbox issue. McLaren makes FP3 an absolute priority for Norris's recovery at the Madring circuit.
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