Verstappen fastest in second practice

Second part of free practice

Cloudy. Dry. Air +24C, rail +37C

After the first training session was devoted to new products, the second team worked on the settings and tires, assessing tire wear on the trail. However, new items were also tested. Track conditions after the session of supporting races improved, the asphalt was covered with spent rubber.

At the start of the session, many tried out the new C1 tyres, which Pirelli intends to use from Silverstone. The composition is the same, but a more durable construction prevents problems. Everyone remembers how rubber exploded and exfoliated in 2013 and 2020 – and Pirelli decided to play it safe.

As in the morning, many complained about the bunching of cars in the last corner, which became noticeable after the removal of the last chicane. The track became shorter, the absolute record already fell in the first practice and in the second speed it increased even more.

The session went smoothly. Sometimes drivers went a little wider into the corner without affecting the cars. To avoid a collision with Piastri slowing down, Russell had to go into the gravel.

In the last minutes it started to rain, but this did not affect the work.

Just like in the morning, Max Verstappen took the lead with a lap time of 1:13.907. Carlos Sainz on a modified Ferrari again lost to Charles Leclerc on the old one.

Results of the second session

First part of free practice

Cloudy. Dry. Air +25С, route +42…43С

After a run of five Grands Prix on street circuits, the teams arrived at the well-known stationary circuit in Barcelona with many new products, most of which they spent testing during the first practice session. Racers rode off with aerodynamic paint and local pressure gauges.

Pirelli gave the teams two sets of new Hard tires to test on Friday, which will be used from Silverstone onwards.

The configuration of the track has been updated this year, with the last chicane removed, a high-speed section appeared in its place – we also had to get used to that. The day before, many riders said that at the end of the weekend, the neck will hurt because of the high g-forces on this stretch. Interestingly, they complained not only to Mercedes and Ferrari, but also to Red Bull about the car’s build-up due to a bump in the last corner, which was in no way felt in the configuration with a chicane.

In Ferrari, only Sainz got new items and Leclerc left in the same car for the engineers to evaluate progress on long range circles. As a result, Carlos stood by his partner.

The session went smoothly. Racers slightly left the track several times, but no more. At the end of the session, Gasly caught Sargent’s car while overtaking, but both drivers kept moving.

Max Verstappen took the lead with a lap time of 1:14.606.

Results of the first session