Kimi Antonelli is back on the track but playing hide-and-seek
After handing his car over to Frederik Vesti in the first free practice session, F1 World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli returned to the cockpit of his Mercedes for the afternoon’s FP2 at Montmeló, the venue for the Catalan Grand Prix. The Bologna native, however, didn’t take too many risks, settling for the fifth-fastest time of the session, 0.589 seconds behind Lando Norris, who set the fastest lap of the hour with a time of 1:14.426.
Antonelli’s teammate George Russell also outperformed him, with a best time just 0.009 seconds slower than Norris’s. Oscar Piastri’s other McLaren was also very close (+0.057), while in fourth place was the first of the two Ferraris, driven by Charles Leclerc (+0.373).
Behind Antonelli were Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +0.895), Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls, +0.985), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi, +1.185), Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, +1.205), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull, +1.248), Nico Hülkenberg (Audi, +1.508), Ollie Bearman (Haas, +1.519), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, +1.541), Carlos Sainz (Williams, +1.594), Franco Colapinto (Alpine, +1.625), Pierre Gasly (Alpine, +1.834), Esteban Ocon (Haas, +2.112), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac, +2.799), Alex Albon (+3.364), Sergio Perez (Cadillac, +3.835), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin, +3.860), and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin, +4.033).
Saturday’s schedule will see the drivers take to the track for the final free practice session at 12:30 p.m., while qualifying will begin at 4:00 p.m. The race takes place on Sunday, with the lights going out at 3:00 p.m.: 66 laps to complete. Last year on the same circuit, Oscar Piastri dominated with pole position, the fastest lap in the race, and victory, behind the wheel of the McLaren.
