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McLaren
Norris topped FP1 on the soft tyre, although he did complete his lap slightly later than Verstappen and thus had arguably better track conditions. But given he was half a tenth off P1 in FP2, it looks like the McLaren is going to be quick here – and could be in the mix for pole. Piastri will have to work slightly harder to get on the pace of his team mate, he was a few tenths off in both sessions.
Lando Norris – FP1: 1:14.228, P1; FP2: 1:13.319, P3
“A positive day in hot conditions. It was difficult to get the perfect balance, which I think is the same for everyone, but overall, I felt comfortable with the car today.
“I feel like we’re in good shape with some things to improve overnight, but not a lot and I’m confident we can put ourselves into a good position. It’s super-close, like we’ve seen in the last few weeks, so, it’s about the smaller things and trying to get everything together. Tomorrow will be the key.”
Oscar Piastri – FP1: 1:14.867, P6; FP2: 1:13.622, P7
“That’s Friday done, a decent day with a few areas to tidy up but I think the car’s looking competitive, which is good. I found a few things in FP2 with my driving and the set-up, so it’s about dialling everything in a bit more overnight. There’s some work to do ahead of Qualifying and as expected, it looks very tight at the front so getting the most out of our package tomorrow will be important for Sunday’s race.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
“A useful practice day in Barcelona. There were no major issues, and we completed our run plan which included establishing the correct car set-up, which is extremely important here given the demanding nature of the track for grip in these long corners, and hot conditions.
“We have been able to work on the tyres, trying to understand which compounds are the best for the race, and how to use the Soft tyre for Qualifying. I think we have collected good data, which we will now review overnight.
“Overall, no surprises. It looks pretty tight at the front of the field, and we can see, like we’ve been seeing lately, that all cars seem to be able to produce quick laps. We’ll have to stay focused and deliver good laps, but the potential is encouraging, and we’ll try to maximise our performance to score as many points as possible this weekend.”
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