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Formula 1 Spanish GP

F1 Spanish GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Updates from F1 Friday practice at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, signs autographs for fans

After a week break, F1 returns to action back in Europe for the Spanish GP.

Charles Leclerc leads the F1 drivers’ standings by 19 points from Max Verstappen following the Dutch driver’s Miami GP victory last time out, as Ferrari heads the teams’ standings by just six points from Red Bull.

An extensive range of upgrades have been delivered by almost every F1 team, which could shake-up the pecking order as teams push on with the development of the new cars.

Opening practice for the Spanish GP gets underway at 1.00pm BST (2.00pm local time), followed by second practice which starts at 4.00pm BST (5.00pm local time).

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Mechanical problem
The floor trouble has lost Norris his soft tyre run, leaving him stranded in last place on the times, and, indeed, the rest of FP2. His session is over due to the damage.
Plenty of long runs and heavy fuel loads on show now with nobody troubling the top lap times anymore. Classic FP2-ing.
"Quite a lot of degradation," Sainz reports over team radio. The Spaniard is on the softs at present so that's to be expected. Very few drivers have ventured on to the hards and in recent years this race has favoured a medium-soft-switching two-stopper.
Just Magnussen and Stroll on the hards at present, with the vast majority of drivers on the mediums.
The car performance rankings on the straights, powered by everyone's favourites AWS, puts the Merc factory pair on top ahead of Ferrari's Leclerc then Aston Martin's Vettel. Interesting.
The medium definitely looks the optimum race tyre going on driver and team feedback so far, which may limit strategy options for Sunday's race.
With FP2 winding up, it is worth noting it hasn't been a great session for Alfa Romeo or McLaren. Both teams effectively lost one driver, Bottas stopped with a mechanical and Norris with damage, with Ricciardo 15th and Zhou 17th.
Perez takes a tour through the gravel at the exit of Turn 7, but no harm done as the Red Bull driver gets going again.
Checkered flag
That's your lot for FP2. Leclerc on top again but this time ahead of Russell and Hamilton on a strong day for Mercedes.
Practice start time, which are taking place on the main straight despite the ample room at the pitlane exit for those. Still, a nice bit of show for the fans to end the day.
Can Mercedes carry that practice pace through to qualifying and the race after falling backwards in Miami? If it can with its upgrades that sets up a three-team fight at the front. Tasty.
Breaking news
Here's the full report on FP2: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-spanish-gp-fp2-leclerc-quickest-from-mercedes-duo/10307550/
Checkered flag
Right, we'll call time on this live coverage of Friday practice of the Spanish GP. We'll be back bright and early tomorrow ahead of final practice which starts at 12pm BST (1pm local time). Until then, have a lovely Friday night!

By: autosport.com

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