Kimi Antonelli responds to Russell’s FP1 pace with Madring FP2 top spot

Kimi Antonelli answered Mercedes team-mate George Russell’s FP1 benchmark by setting the pace in the second practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring. The Mercedes driver finished ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while the session was interrupted by the first Formula 1 red flag of the Madrid weekend.

The result reversed the order at the top from the opening session, in which George Russell led a Mercedes one-two. It also underlined the intensity of the early Mercedes-Ferrari battle, although the closing stages were largely focused on longer runs rather than further changes to the order.

Antonelli and Ferrari set the early pace

Ferrari established the initial benchmark, with Leclerc recording a 1:35.557 to edge Hamilton by 45 milliseconds. Antonelli then produced the first major response, going more than a second quicker and breaking into the 1:34s after seven minutes.

Max Verstappen briefly joined the fight at the front before his fastest lap was deleted for track limits, leaving him eighth at that stage. Antonelli also voiced frustration over traffic, directing a radio complaint at Sergio Perez’s Cadillac and saying it was “always” the six-time grand prix winner in his way.

Fernando Alonso’s session began late after the clutch problem from FP1 carried over. Aston Martin eventually appeared to resolve the issue sufficiently for Alonso to take part, but he finished 17th.

Lindblad crash interrupts a disrupted session

Arvid Lindblad continued to make an impression at the Madring, climbing as high as third before Hamilton moved ahead. The Racing Bulls driver ultimately finished fourth, just in front of Russell, but his session ended heavily at Turn 13.

Lindblad lost the rear on corner entry and hit the outside barriers sideways, bringing out the red flag with just over 20 minutes remaining. Liam Lawson also brushed the wall at Turn 21, though his incident was less severe, and he stayed in the garage after the interruption.

The session resumed with under 15 minutes left. Verstappen immediately reported that his steering felt unusually heavy, while Lance Stroll was later instructed to slow down as Aston Martin managed a suspected but undisclosed problem.

At the other end of the timing order, Lando Norris lost the remainder of FP2 to a gearbox failure. McLaren confirmed that the unit had gone into false neutral and required a complete replacement. With no further meaningful movement before the chequered flag, Antonelli remained fastest.