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Tight Battle at the Top in Spanish Grand Prix Practice as Hamilton Struggles
The 2025 Spanish Grand Prix weekend kicked off with a thrillingly close second practice session, as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris posted identical lap times, while Lewis Hamilton faced another frustrating session. Reigning world champion Verstappen and McLaren’s Norris both clocked a 1:13.070 lap in FP1, but Verstappen was ranked ahead by virtue of setting the time first.
McLaren continued to show strong form in FP2, with current championship leader Oscar Piastri topping the session. The Australian impressed with a 1:12.760 lap, finishing nearly three-tenths of a second ahead of George Russell, who bounced back after a disappointing outing in Monaco. Russell’s performance brought much-needed optimism to the Mercedes garage.
Verstappen ended FP2 in third, just 0.310 seconds behind Piastri, with Norris fourth — also 0.310 behind but listed after Verstappen due to timing order. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the top five, maintaining a steady pace after a solid FP1 session where he trailed Hamilton. However, Hamilton couldn’t carry that momentum into FP2, finishing only 11th fastest, almost eight-tenths off the top time.
Rookie sensation Kimi Antonelli, Russell’s teammate at Mercedes, continued to impress by finishing sixth, just 0.538 seconds off Piastri. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, dealing with early technical issues that cut his FP1 session short, improved to seventh in FP2, much to the delight of the Spanish crowd.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished eighth, followed closely by Racing Bulls teammates Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson in ninth and tenth, respectively. Hamilton slotted into 11th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda. Carlos Sainz, racing for Williams this season, was 14th — over nine-tenths off the pace.
The session also saw two rookie drivers in action during FP1. Ryo Hirakawa replaced Esteban Ocon at Haas, while F2 frontrunner Victor Martins took over Alex Albon’s seat at Williams. However, both teams reverted to their usual lineups for FP2.
The weekend’s early action suggests a tightly contested fight at the front, particularly between McLaren and Red Bull. While Verstappen and Piastri look closely matched, Hamilton and Ferrari appear to be struggling to find consistent pace. With qualifying still to come, all eyes will be on how these early patterns translate into grid positions for Sunday’s race.
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