Lando Norris backs up Monaco win by soaring to top spot in Spain first practice
Norris earned a morale-boosting second win of the campaign last Sunday to move to within three points of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the championship.
And the British driver headed Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.367 seconds in the opening running at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya with Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari.
Hamilton was 0.378 sec adrift of Norris while his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc took fourth spot. Piastri finished fifth.
McLaren's 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 appears to have done little to influence McLaren's speed with Norris holding an early advantage. Although there could be some concern for Piastri who was more than half-a-second down on 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.
FP1 is done and dusted with three teams in the top three! 🤩
1. Norris: 1:13.7182. Verstappen: +0.3673. Hamilton: +0.378#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/j6luBPwPHZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 30, 2025
The Dutch driver 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 second in the order after he missed 20 minutes of the one-hour session as Red Bull made tweaks to his rear suspension.
Hamilton will also be encouraged by his early showing after he finished a tenth-and-a-half clear of Leclerc.
Liam Lawson was seventh for Racing Bulls, one place ahead of British rookie Ollie Bearman. George Russell finished a distant 11th for Mercedes, one second behind Norris. Second practice takes place at 17:00 (16:00 BST).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
43 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Sunderland captain Dan Neil, 23, lined up for shock £15m transfer to Serie A giants with Jobe Bellingham also set to go
Scroll down to see Neil's stats CAP IT OFF Sunderland captain Dan Neil, 23, lined up for shock £15m transfer to Serie A giants with Jobe Bellingham also set to go Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ITALIANS Roma are poised to make a shock move for Sunderland skipper Dan Neil. South Shields-born Neil, 23, led the Black Cats back to the Premier League via the play-offs last week — but could now be off to Serie A. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Dan Neil helped his boyhood club to Prem promotion Credit: Getty Roma are keen on the hard-running midfielder who is aware of their interest and a £15million deal could be thrashed out. British players are respected in Italy right now off the back of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour helping Napoli to the title. Neil's move would rock Sunderland, though, who are already preparing to lose Jobe Bellingham. The 19-year-old is already talking to clubs in Germany and likely to leave in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over Sheffield United. Bellingham joined the Black Cats for £3m in 2023. The midfielder has since played 90 times, scoring 11 goals. He is a regular for England's age group sides, and has so far earned four caps at Under-21 level. Speaking after winning promotion last week, Bellingham told Sky Sports: "I always believed, you have to believe. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 4 Jobe Bellingham was a key figure for Sunderland this season Credit: Shutterstock Editorial "When you've got supporters like this and a group of lads like that, you always have to believe. "I always believed and I know people doubted us and that's understandable, we lost a few games, people talk about momentum. Jobe Bellingham takes swipe at Sky Sports pundits in live TV interview before awkward moment with panel at Wembley "But I think we did enough, we showed enough throughout the season for people to at least give us some credit going into the play-offs. "The typical 'inexperienced' by all the ex-pros that speak on Sky but we've just proved that don't matter. "You need experience, of course, with youth like at Sunderland you play loads of games you get that experience. "You get experience by failing and we failed together so many times and in the end we come good." Neil, meanwhile, burst onto the scene after debuting in 2018. The all-action midfielder has since become captain of his boyhood club. Neil has played 197 times for Sunderland, scoring 12 goals and laying on 20 assists. 4
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
F1 driver suffers serious injury and will miss Spanish GP to undergo surgery
Aston Martin's plans for the Spanish Grand Prix have been rocked after confirming that Lance Stroll will not be competing on Sunday as he prepares to undergo surgery Aston Martin have announced that Lance Stroll will not participate in Sunday's eagerly anticipated Spanish Grand Prix as he prepares to undergo surgery after experiencing pain in his hand and wrist. It's been outlined that Stroll's issue likely relates to the surgery he underwent back in 2023 after he was involved in a cycling accident, with the Canadian having fresh issues in recent weeks. A statement from Aston Martin on Saturday night confirmed the news, saying: "Over the course of the past six weeks Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023. "As a result his medical team have confirmed that he will not race tomorrow and he will undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery." Unfortunately for Aston Martin, no racer will be able to replace Stroll in Sunday's Spanish GP as only drivers who participate in qualifying are eligible to compete. The 26-year-old was due to start Sunday's race from 14th in the grid after qualification. Fernando Alonso will be Aston Martin's sole race in Barcelona. The 43-year-old qualified in 10th place for his home race. Felipe Drugovich is the team's reserve driver and could be called up once Stroll undergoes surgery depending on the required recovery time.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Wife's desperate plea for rugby star who vanished weeks after birth of new baby
The wife of a rugby player in West Yorkshire who went missing a day ago has issued an urgent plea about his disappearance. Dad-of-three Brandon Moore, 28, who plays for the Batley Bulldogs in Castleford, went missing Friday night. His wife, Mara, has asked anyone with information to come forward as he missed his Championship match against Toulouse Olympique today. 'If anyone has seen Brandon Moore, can you please message me? I usually wouldn't ever post anything on here like this, but family and friends haven't seen or heard of him and hoping maybe someone's seen sightings of him and can message me,' she said. 'I have a 7-week-old baby at home and 2 others, so I can't go hunting myself other than a car ride.' Mara said she is in contact with the police over her husband's sudden disappearance. Well-wishers have flooded her comment section as she awaits further news. 'Oh Mara, how worrying for you, hope it's something of nothing and he's home soon,' one wrote. More Trending Another added: 'Oh my goodness, sending you lots of love, Mara, can't even imagine what you're going through.' As of today, her post has been shared over 3,000 times. Metro has contacted West Yorkshire Police for comment. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: The strongest British & Irish Lions XV after Andy Farrell names squad for Australia tour
