Oscar Piastri sets the pace in Spanish Grand Prix practice
Oscar Piastri knocked Lando Norris off top spot in practice as McLaren set the pace for Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.
Five days after Norris won in Monaco to reignite his stuttering title charge, the British driver soared to first place in the opening running at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
However, championship leader Piastri, who Norris trails by three points, bounced back in the day's concluding session to finish fastest.
George Russell took second for Mercedes, 0.286 seconds behind Piastri, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen third. Norris finished in fourth, three tenths behind his McLaren team-mate, while Lewis Hamilton was a distant 11th in his Ferrari.
McLaren have won six of the eight rounds so far, and their rivals might have hoped that a clampdown on flexible front wings – which some believe has contributed to the British team's rise – would slow them down.
However, the early evidence of the rule tweak introduced for this race appears to have done little to influence McLaren's speed.
Mercedes endured a woeful weekend in Monaco last weekend with both Russell and Kimi Antonelli out of the points. But Russell was the closest contender to Piastri in the second session with Antonelli four places back and three tenths behind his team-mate.
Verstappen is the only driver outside of McLaren to win a race this season following victories in Japan and Imola to put him 25 points off the title pace.
Friday completed 👍 Quali day tomorrow pic.twitter.com/3qAMb36eI8
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 30, 2025
The four-time world champion indicated here that he will not be able to challenge Norris and Piastri over the championship stretch, but he can at least take confidence from being in contention in Spain. He set an identical time to Norris – albeit both men were 0.310 sec slower than Piastri.
Hamilton heads into the ninth round of his Ferrari career 98 points behind Piastri in the standings. Hamilton won a sprint race at the second round in China but he has failed to finish on the podium since completing his blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari.
'The car is not driveable, mate,' said Hamilton with his best lap failing to make it into the top 10. His team-mate Charles Leclerc finished six places and nearly three tenths better off in fifth.
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South Wales Guardian
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Piastri holds a three-point championship lead over Norris, and the Australian delivered in qualifying to beat the British driver by an impressive 0.209 seconds at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya – the biggest pole margin of the season so far. World champion Max Verstappen took third place for Red Bull, one spot clear of Mercedes' George Russell. Verstappen and Russell set identical times with the former taking the higher grid slot after setting his time first. POLE POSITION IN BARCELONA! 🏁 Oscar's secures his fourth Pole position of the season 👏 #McLaren | #M7AReborn | #SpanishGP 🇪🇸 — McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 31, 2025 Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth with Kimi Antonelli sixth for Mercedes and Charles Leclerc, who completed just one quick lap in Q3, seventh. McLaren have won six of the eight rounds so far, and their rivals might have hoped that a clampdown on flexible front wings – which some believe has contributed to the British team's rise – would slow them down. However, the rule tweak has done little to influence McLaren's speed, with Piastri and Norris embroiled in a tense battle for pole. Norris secured top spot in Monaco a week ago before going on to claim his first win since March's season-opening round in Melbourne. He ended the first runs here in Q3 holding a slender 0.017 sec margin over his team-mate. Norris enjoyed a tow off Piastri's McLaren with the Australian calling his team-mate's antics 'cheeky'. The McLaren duo returned for a final shot at pole and although Norris improved on his first lap, it was Piastri who lit up the timesheets by taking his fourth pole of the season by two tenths. 'I am very happy,' said Piastri. 'It didn't start off in the best way. I was struggling but I found pace and the car has been mega. 'I improved quite a lot in Turn 1 on my second lap and it all came together. It wasn't the perfect lap. It is going to be an interesting one tomorrow and I am pretty glad I am starting from pole.' Norris said: 'Oscar drove very well. The pace was there but I made a few mistakes.' Chequered flag on our Saturday on track 🇪🇸 — Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) May 31, 2025 Hamilton called his car 'undriveable' in practice on Friday, but he will take comfort from out-qualifying Leclerc for the first time since the second round in China, albeit half-a-second back from Piastri. Home favourite Carlos Sainz qualified a disappointing 18th while Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda will prop up the grid after he clocked the slowest time with just eight tenths separating first to last in Q1. British rookie Ollie Bearman progressed to Q2, and will line up from 15th, two places clear of Esteban Ocon in the other Haas.
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36 minutes ago
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