Kimi Antonelli ended Friday practice at the Spanish Grand Prix on top of the timesheets after producing the fastest lap in FP2 at the Madring, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver clocked a 1m 33.662s, a time that proved impossible to beat after the session was interrupted by a crash involving Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad.
With just over a tenth separating Antonelli from his closest rival, the result gave Mercedes another encouraging sign on the opening day at the brand-new Madrid circuit.
All 22 drivers were eager to maximize their limited track time as they continued learning the challenging new layout, where the walls leave very little room for error.
For Fernando Alonso, however, the session got off to a frustrating start. Aston Martin confirmed that the Spaniard was forced to remain in the garage initially after suffering a clutch problem following his practice starts in FP1.
Haas drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman were among the first to venture onto the circuit in the high temperatures, before George Russell, who topped FP1, established the early benchmark with a 1m 36.011s.
The Mercedes driver was quickly pushed down the order as Ferrari showed strong pace on the medium tyres.
Leclerc initially moved to the top before Antonelli completed his first flying lap and immediately went more than a second clear of the field.
However, the times continued to tumble as the newly surfaced circuit evolved rapidly.
Leclerc responded by closing the gap to just 0.001s, putting Mercedes and Ferrari in the top four during the opening 15 minutes.
Despite Leclerc’s impressive pace, Ferrari appeared to struggle in the final sector, where Antonelli was able to extract significantly more performance.
Mercedes and Ferrari were not the only teams dealing with problems.
McLaren changed Lando Norris’ gearbox, leaving the championship contender stuck in the garage for much of the session, while Oscar Piastri complained about a lack of rear grip.
Piastri eventually improved his pace on the soft tyres, but his effort was soon eclipsed by Lindblad.
The Racing Bulls rookie continued to impress, particularly through the opening sector, and climbed to within two tenths of Antonelli’s benchmark.
But the promising run came to an abrupt end.
Approaching Turn 13, Lindblad lost the rear of his Racing Bulls and slammed into the barriers, bringing out the red flags and ending his session prematurely.
Once the debris was cleared and the session resumed, nobody could challenge Antonelli’s earlier lap.
The Italian therefore remained at the top, ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton.
Remarkably, Lindblad still held fourth place despite his crash, followed by Russell, Max Verstappen and Piastri.
Yuki Tsunoda was eighth for Racing Bulls, ahead of Haas’ Ocon and Red Bull’s Liam Lawson.
Pierre Gasly took 11th for Alpine, leading the Audi duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bearman, Franco Colapinto and home favourite Carlos Sainz completed the next positions.
Despite his shortened running, Alonso managed 17th, while Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas followed.
Norris was left at the bottom of the order after failing to record a representative lap during the session.
With the first day of action in Madrid now complete, teams will have an overnight opportunity to analyze their data before returning to the Madring for final practice.
FP3 is scheduled for 12:30 local time on Saturday, September 12.
Antonelli’s FP2 performance is arguably one of the biggest talking points of the opening day in Madrid.
Mercedes clearly found something that Ferrari could not match, particularly through the final sector, and the fact that Antonelli’s benchmark survived the late-session improvements suggests the lap was genuinely strong rather than simply benefiting from track position.
Ferrari still looks competitive, but the gap in the final sector could become a major talking point as the weekend progresses.
The bigger concern could be McLaren. Norris’ gearbox issue severely limited his running, while Piastri’s complaints about rear grip suggest that the reigning benchmark team still has work to do before qualifying.
And then there is Lindblad.
The rookie’s pace was impressive before his crash, especially in Sector 1. A strong result was beginning to look possible before Turn 13 ended his session. On a circuit this unforgiving, however, learning the limit without crossing it may ultimately prove just as important as outright speed.
The new Madring is already delivering drama, and Friday may only have been the opening chapter.
What do you think of Antonelli’s pace in Madrid? Can Mercedes challenge Ferrari and McLaren for pole, or will the picture change completely in qualifying? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Adhe is part of the 88 Eight Box Editorial Team, covering JDM culture, motorsport, automotive technology, and industry news. The team focuses on delivering original automotive stories, reviews, and insights for enthusiasts worldwide.
