Leclerc shines, Verstappen lags, while Mercedes and Alpine show improvement.
BARCELONA, Spain—On Friday, Charles Leclerc showed the rest of the Formula One world that his Ferrari can still be a contender as the Monegasque took both Friday practice sessions in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. Leclerc also set the fastest time of the day, clocking a 1:19:670 time.
Leclerc finished ahead of a Mercedes duo that benefitted from upgrades that could return the Silver Arrows to contender status. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton placed second and third, respectively, with Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate and home hero, Carlos Sainz Jr., taking fourth for the day.
Extra upgrades also paid off for the French Alpine team as Fernando Alonso, on his home circuit, and Esteban Ocon finished in the top ten, placing sixth and ninth, respectively.
Friends and fellow compatriots Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher also finished in the top ten, with Vettel supporting a controversial but upgraded Aston Martin, taking eighth. The Haas driver continued to improve, finishing tenth, two positions better than his teammate in the American entry, Kevin Magnussen, who ended up 12th.
Max Verstappen, who has won three of the last five races, was disappointing as the Dutchman could no better place than fifth in his Red Bull. His teammate, Sergio Perez, was not any better, taking seventh.
The morning session was largely incident-free, but the afternoon had McLaren’s Lando Norris run wide on one of the turns, breaking his floor and completing only six laps. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had an engine expire while coming down the main straight. The Finn parked his entry just before turn one, bringing out a virtual safety car for a few minutes.
The weather is expected to be warmer for the weekend, which likely means tire wearing and engine reliability will be issues for Qualifying and Sunday’s race. The qualifying session will be televised on Saturday by ESPN2 starting at 10a Eastern time.
