Championship leader Antonelli edges Leclerc in FP2 as Lindblad crashes on Madrid debut

Kimi Antonelli continued his strong start to the Formula 1 season by leading second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, setting a best lap of 1m33.662s at Madrid’s new Madring circuit to edge Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton third.

The championship leader was consistently quick throughout the one-hour session, first setting the pace on medium tyres before switching to softs and extending his advantage. Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell ended the day fifth, within a tenth of the leader during the medium-tyre runs but unable to match the pace of the Ferrari pair on softs.

The 5.4km Madring — a hybrid of street sections and a purpose-built loop — proved a stern test from the moment cars rolled out on Friday morning. With almost no runoff available, teams adopted a conservative approach in FP1, prioritising rhythm and car feel over outright lap time. Some of that caution eased in FP2, though grip levels and tyre management remained the dominant talking points.

Pirelli’s soft compound proved particularly difficult to manage, with the circuit’s constant lateral loads pushing the rubber beyond its optimal temperature window. Turn 17’s right-hander caught several drivers out, generating a string of track-limit violations as cars ran wide on exit.

The session’s most dramatic moment came from Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who had been running an eye-catching fourth before sliding into the barriers at Turn 13, a medium-speed left-hander, with 25 minutes remaining. Lindblad escaped unharmed, but the resulting red flag — and the time required to repair the displaced TecPro barriers — effectively ended meaningful running for the rest of the field.

With no further improvements possible after the stoppage, the final order confirmed Antonelli ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton. Lindblad retained fourth despite the crash, with Russell fifth and Max Verstappen sixth. Oscar Piastri was the leading McLaren in seventh after a difficult Friday for the reigning constructors’ champions.