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End of workday
That brings us to the end of the training Friday in Madrid. Tomorrow we will of course be back for you with a new ticker, then FT3 (12:30) and the probably important qualifying (16:00) are on the agenda.
Have a nice evening, have a good weekend and see you then!
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Photos: F1: Spanish Grand Prix (Madrid) 2026
Antonelli: “Still a lot of work ahead of us”
The championship leader set the best time today and summarizes: “We had a good first day here, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us before the rest of the weekend. It will be difficult to manage the tires on Sunday, and overtaking will likely be a real challenge.”
“That makes our work on a single lap tomorrow morning all the more important. We will focus on that overnight, but we also want to make sure we have a good car for the race on Sunday,” says Antonelli.
Teammate George Russell adds: “We started well in the first practice and the car was strong from the beginning. For the second practice, we made some setup changes. However, I’m not sure if the car improved because of that.”
“So we might undo them overnight,” he announces.
McLaren: Valuable time lost
While Lindblad only missed the final phase in FT2, Lando Norris was barely able to drive. Mark Temple from McLaren emphasizes: “Today was a big challenge for us, especially due to the gearbox problem that cost Lando a lot of driving time in FT2.”
“This is a severe setback on a new and technically demanding track like this, where every lap is crucial for data collection. The conditions are difficult for everyone with high temperatures and low grip.”
“Therefore, losing this driving time ahead of Saturday certainly puts us at a disadvantage,” says Temple, who also admits: “The car is not quite how we want it yet. But we have some concrete ideas regarding both the chassis and the driver that we want to try out.”
They want to make up for the lost time with Norris as best as possible in FT3 tomorrow.
Racing Bulls happy despite crash
“If you ignore the crash, it was an absolutely great day,” emphasizes Alan Permane. Although Arvid Lindblad had a crash in FT2, he was also a strong fourth at the same time.
“The car is fast. We had a decent car from the start, made some changes between the first and second practice, and significantly improved it,” says Permane.
That means a top 10 result is “certainly” possible tomorrow, he says aggressively. Lindblad himself also explains: “Overall, it was a good day. We are very fast.”
He just made one mistake.
Overtaking impossible?
Could overtaking become a problem on Sunday? At least some suspect that qualifying tomorrow could play a decisive role – for example Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur.
“It’s mega hard to overtake,” he warns and emphasizes: “That means the starting position on the track will be crucial. It also means we have to shift our focus a bit.”
“Of course, it’s better to have good race pace,” Vasseur says, “but the qualifying position will be decisive,” he predicts.
That means: The focus is even more than usual on qualifying.
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Red Bull: More difficult than expected
Pierre Wache reports after P6 and P10 today: “Regarding vehicle setup, there is certainly still a lot to do, especially with mechanical grip. The driving behavior is more demanding than expected.”
“And regarding energy use, it’s clear that we still have a lot of work ahead of us,” he admits. That means: Things are not running smoothly at Red Bull yet. “We already made quite a few changes between FT1 and FT2,” emphasizes Wache.
“And I think we will continue to try different approaches,” he says with regard to FT3 tomorrow.
Alpine: Worse in Madrid than in Monza
In Italy, Pierre Gasly sensationally took pole. But he probably won’t be able to repeat that tomorrow. “It’s a completely different race track, a completely different challenge,” emphasizes Steve Nielsen.
“And while Monza highlighted some of our strengths, some of our weaknesses become clear here,” he emphasizes and explains: “There is no magic dust that sprinkles itself on this track.”
That means: Normally, it should be a more difficult weekend for Alpine.
Formula 3: Advantage for Ugochukwu
The Formula 3 qualifying has just finished – and surprisingly without another red flag. There was a crash here as well, but only at the very end of the session, so no red flag was needed.
Sportingly, the first points win in the title duel went to Ugo Ugochukwu. He was fourth in qualifying for the first main race, even second in the second. Freddie Slater, on the other hand, only finished P17 and P8.
Looks like an exciting title fight tomorrow and Sunday.
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