Kimi Antonelli strikes back in FP2 as Madring claims its first victim

Kimi Antonelli topped FP2 at the Spanish Grand Prix, beating Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the second and final free practice session of the day.

Arvid Lindblad continued to impress at the Madring, going fourth fastest, just ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes.

However, the Racing Bulls driver would bring out a red flag with just over 20 minutes of the session remaining, heavily damaging his car and ending his afternoon.

Fernando Alonso had a late start to the session, with the clutch problem he experienced at the FP1 carrying over into the start of FP2, although he would eventually get out on track, going P17.

At the foot of the timing boards was Lando Norris, who had a gearbox failure. McLaren replaced it in the back of his MCL40, but it cost the British driver the rest of his session.

Check out the full FP2 reports at the Spanish Grand Prix below!

Opening salvo

Before the session had even got underway, Alonso faced the prospect of a late start after the clutch issues he suffered following his practice start in FP1 persisted.

The majority of the field quickly filed out onto the circuit, with just Lance Stroll — in the other Aston Martin — and Alex Albon holding back. However, within five minutes, they would both join their peers on track.

Like in FP1, Ferrari set the early benchmark, with Leclerc putting in a 1:35.557, some 45 milliseconds quicker than Hamilton in the second SF-26.

With seven minutes gone, Antonelli would put the hammer down in a meaningful way, going over a second quicker and into the sub-1:34.5s.

At McLaren, Norris returned to the garage with a gearbox issue. It had gone into false neutral, necessitating further investigation as the reigning F1 drivers' champion disembarked his MCL40. The team would eventually confirm a complete change was required, and he would not return to the track.

As the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari at the sharp end intensified, Antonelli found himself frustrated by the Cadillac of Sergio Perez, taking to team radio to say that it is "always" the six-time grand prix winner in the way.

Verstappen thrust himself into the battle just before the 20-minute mark, going quickest. However, his lap time was promptly deleted for track limits, dropping the Dutchman back down to eighth.

Middle third

Alonso would eventually venture out onto the circuit to get his session underway, with the clutch issues on his AMR26 seemingly solved.

25 minutes into the hour, there was a brief yellow flag because of marshals walking down the fast lane of the pit lane, bizarrely.

Arvid Lindblad continued his impressive afternoon, going third fastest in his Racing Bulls. Despite being bumped down to fourth by Hamilton in short order, the pace of his VCARB 03 caught attention in the paddock.

The Ferrari driver, not for the first time at the Madring, subsequently held up Yuki Tsunoda the following lap, for which he apologised to the 26-year-old.

A few minutes later, Lindblad lost the rear of his car at the entrance to Turn 13, slamming sideways into the barriers on the outside of the corner, bringing out a first red flag — in F1 — of the weekend.

The Briton's usual team-mate, Liam Lawson, also had a moment, although significantly less severe. The Isack Hadjar stand-in glanced the wall on the outside of Turn 21 before the session was interrupted.

Closing stages

The session resumed with just under 15 minutes remaining, but it was not a case of 'as you were' for Verstappen at Red Bull. The four-time F1 drivers' champion immediately came on the radio to claim that his steering felt strangely heavier than before.

Lawson remained in the garage, unable to return to the circuit, but there would be little movement on the timing board over the final quarter of an hour, with the field prioritising longer runs.

In the dying moments, Stroll was told to go slowly with his Aston Martin nursing a suspected — but undisclosed over team radio — issue. As such, Antonelli stayed atop the standings uncontested at the end.