World champion Lando Norris and his McLaren team made a strong comeback at the start of Formula 1 in Barcelona.
The Englishman turned the fastest lap of the day on Friday afternoon in 1:15.426 minutes, behind which things were close: Mercedes driver George Russell came second with just nine thousandths of a second, and Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren was also just six hundredths behind.
However, World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli remained below his options. The 19-year-old Italian only finished fifth in the other Mercedes, a good half a second behind the leaders.
Like six other drivers, including Norris, Antonelli sat out the first training session to make room for a young driver.
Nico Hülkenberg didn’t take part in the first session either, but in the second training session he achieved a decent eleventh place in the Audi.
Alonso has no chance at home so far
Old master Fernando Alonso, who had announced in advance that his last race on the home track would be on Sunday (3:00 p.m./Sky), came second to last in the weak Aston Martin.
Mercedes has won every Grand Prix so far this season. Antonelli has recently won five in a row and leads the World Championship by some margin.
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) is second, 66 points behind, he came ninth in training in Barcelona. Russell, who hasn’t been on the podium for four race weekends, is 68 points behind.