McLaren has made a strong statement on the opening day of the Spanish Grand Prix, positioning itself as a top contender. After Lando Norris set the fastest time in the first practice, it was championship leader Oscar Piastri‘s turn in the late afternoon. Max Verstappen and Norris mirrored each other, recording exactly the same time, but significantly behind Piastri.
Lando Norris set the pace in the first session of the Spanish GP, being the only driver to go under 1.14. The increased speed of the track and the improved grip became evident in the opening minutes of the second practice. Norris immediately improved his time from the first practice, even on a slower (medium) tyre. However, the British driver didn’t top the leaderboard for long. George Russell in his Mercedes quickly shaved off a significant amount of time, while Lewis Hamilton was very dissatisfied, complaining that Ferrari’s SF-25 is ‘unmanageable’.
These are all preliminary skirmishes in the teams’ and drivers’ quest for the ideal setup. According to team boss Christian Horner, there’s a lot at stake for Red Bull in Barcelona. The constructors’ championship is no longer a topic of discussion a third of the way into the season, as the gap to McLaren is already too large. However, the drivers’ title is still up for grabs. Max Verstappen is trailing by 25 points behind McLaren’s world championship leader Oscar Piastri and 22 behind his teammate Norris.
“We know that McLaren was strong in warm conditions this year, but we gained confidence from the race in Imola,” said Horner. “We were very strong on that circuit. I hope, also due to the stricter control on the flexible wings, that we can challenge McLaren here. We need to score points on at least one of the two McLaren drivers.”
Verstappen expects this to be a daunting task. In the first qualifying simulation halfway through the practice, Piastri demonstrated the potential of McLaren’s MCL39 in Barcelona. He clocked a time (1.12,760) that no one could match. Russell stayed within three tenths of the Australian, but Verstappen and Norris (who recorded exactly the same time) did not. Despite the stricter controls that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) will implement from the Spanish GP on the flexi-wings, the balance of power seems (for now?) unchanged.
