(Motorsport-Total.com) – After a quiet first Free Practice – surprisingly so after the action-packed Formula 3 test for many – the first big crash of the Formula 1 weekend occurred in the second Free Practice for the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The victim was Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), who had surprised with a strong performance until then.
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The fastest was Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) late Friday afternoon with a best time of 1:33.662 minutes. His teammate George Russell, who had set the best time in FP1 a few hours earlier, fell back to 5th place in FP2. The Englishman’s deficit to the Italian: 0.337 seconds.
Although the Madring at the Madrid trade fair grounds is a brand-new track, the leading field was relatively close together. Charles Leclerc was second, Lewis Hamilton (both Ferrari) third. Deficit: 0.113 and 0.149 seconds respectively. And Lindblad (+0.228) held on to 4th place until the end despite his accident.
“The track has more grip than expected,” analyzes ORF expert Alexander Wurz. Also because various support series had already cleaned the ideal line in advance. However, there was also a big crash in Formula 2, where the affected car even caught fire. This was to remain the only big scare on the first day.
But: “There is a big question mark about tire degradation,” says Russell. “With the tire degradation we all had in the first practice, we believe that a race with six pit stops would probably have been the fastest option. Now I don’t think anyone will make six stops on Sunday, and I’m sure the tires will work better then. But this big, long corner, La Monumental, really puts a lot of strain on the tires. That will be a real challenge for everyone.”
Oscar Piastri (7th/McLaren), Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), Esteban Ocon (Haas) and Liam Lawson (Red Bull) completed the top 10. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) was twelfth with a deficit of 1.398 seconds (0.110 seconds ahead of teammate Gabriel Bortoleto in 13th).
“At the moment, I would rate Mercedes about one and a half tenths ahead of Ferrari,” says Wurz. “I can’t really rate Max yet. At the start of the session, he immediately showed that he was up front. But then at the end it was a bit more difficult for him again. I think from the first gut feeling, when I look at the sector times, that Red Bull has a three-tenths time loss to Mercedes.”
On the topic:
Result: 2nd Free Practice GP Spain, Madrid
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Why was Verstappen’s intermediate time deleted?
The 5.4-kilometer track, a mix of street circuit sections and a specially constructed section with several fast corners, proved difficult to master from the start. And since there are practically no runoff areas, the teams approached the weekend cautiously and initially refrained from an ambitious time attack while the drivers found their rhythm and memorized the track.
In the first run, Antonelli initially set the best time of 1:34.428 minutes. Close behind him was Leclerc, just 0.001 seconds slower. Practically the entire field started the program with the yellow medium tires. Only Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) was in 11th place after 15 minutes on the harder tires.
Later, Antonelli’s time was undercut by Verstappen (1:34.378 minutes), while the Mercedes driver was annoyed by Sergio Perez (Cadillac): “Of course. Always the same guy!” Perez was in Antonelli’s way in a right-hand corner, although he had already cut inside to avoid hindering the Italian. The FIA stewards did not initiate an investigation because of this.
Verstappen’s lead, by the way, lasted only briefly: In corner 17, he was – by far not the only driver – a few centimeters outside the track limits, which is why his best time was deleted. ORF expert Alexander Wurz shows no understanding for this: “I would change the white line there tomorrow. Because it’s miserable to set a track limit there, where the wall is anyway, for five centimeters. We don’t need that on a street circuit.”
When Verstappen then switched from Medium to Soft in the second run, he could no longer match his previous time. With 1:34.036 minutes, he initially remained behind the leading Mercedes duo, who had not yet completed a run with fresh tires.
With fresh tires, it was Antonelli again who set the reference time: 1:33.662 minutes. After 35 minutes, he relegated the two Ferraris, Lindblad, and Russell to places 2 to 5. Russell incurred a deficit of 0.337 seconds to his teammate.
Was there also a big crash?
After the first practice had passed quietly, the red flag made its first appearance this weekend in the second practice after about 35 minutes. Lindblad, who had made a strong impression until then and was in 4th place, wanted to “just do a little too much,” according to Wurz. The Racing Bulls driver did not even look for excuses on the radio: “I’m really sorry. I lost it way too early.”
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When the session was resumed, 15 minutes of remaining time were left. Very little time to do extensive long runs and test race trim for the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
For Racing Bulls, the conclusion after Friday is still positive: “If we exclude the accident, it was an absolutely excellent day. Really,” says team principal Alan Permane. “The car is fast. It is definitely a car for the top 10 in qualifying, maybe even for the top 7. I see no reason why we shouldn’t be confident to get both cars into Q3.”
Lindblad emphasizes: “I just made a small mistake and overdid it a bit in corner 13. […] But looking at the overall picture, it was a good day. We are very fast. I was on my own merit in P4. I was only two tenths behind P1, and that’s really strong.”
Why couldn’t Alonso and Norris drive?
Fernando Alonso started the second practice late. The Spanish local hero was not even in the Aston Martin garage when it started. Reason: In the first practice, he apparently suffered a clutch failure during the practice starts at the end of the session.
“I think it will be difficult to overtake, and for us with our deficit on the straights almost impossible. That’s why qualifying will be important,” says Alonso. “At the same time, I believe that given the close walls and the possibility of safety cars or red flags and all these things, we have to stay focused. We have to see the checkered flag and run our own race. No matter how qualifying goes tomorrow, I think there is still hope for Sunday if we execute the race perfectly.”
Lando Norris (McLaren) also stood in the garage after two installation laps. His team announced during the session: “We have identified a problem with Lando’s car that requires a gearbox change. We are trying to get Lando back on track before the end of the session. But time is tight.”
While Alonso was able to start his program after 25 minutes and the Aston Martin veteran finished 17th in the end, Norris could not get back on track.
Wurz therefore does not see McLaren “as a contender to fight for pole. Not only because of the time difference, but on the onboard footage you see that the car does not try to build grip when the driver goes on the throttle, but the rear breaks loose immediately. That means this is not a mechanically easy car. Maybe aerodynamically top on normal tracks, but here it seems rather difficult for the McLaren drivers.”
Lance Stroll, the second Aston Martin driver, had to stop his training program a few minutes before the end of the session due to a technical problem.
Formula 1 Madrid schedule: What’s next?
Madrid is the last race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship on European soil. After that, the season continues with round 15 at the street circuit in Baku (Azerbaijan). The last two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are still officially on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar but are uncertain due to the military situation in the Middle East.
The Spanish Grand Prix continues on Saturday morning with the third Free Practice (from 12:30 CEST). The first sporting decision will be made in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, which starts at 16:00 CEST. The race in Madrid starts on Sunday at 15:00 CEST.
The race weekend will be broadcast live on Sky (Germany), ORF (Austria), and SRF (Switzerland) (Here is the complete TV overview for Formula 1 in Madrid!).
The usual Formula 1 live streams can be followed by fans on Saturday and Sunday evening on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de. With a summary of the events and analyses well beyond the end of the TV broadcasts. Host Kevin Scheuren presents the streams again with editor-in-chief Christian Nimmervoll as expert.
The provisional start time of the live streams on Saturday and Sunday is set for 21:00 CEST.
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