Verstappen comfortably ahead on the timesheets on both practice sessions, with Mercedes and Ferrari getting to grips with their new upgrades. McLaren and Alfa Tauri stayed anonymous, while Haas and Alpine showed early promising signs, finishing the day only behind Fernando Alonso and the Red Bulls.

 

The first practice session didn't bring up any surprises on the pecking order, as Verstappen was comfortably ahead by three-quarters of a second to the next-best driver, followed by a relatively tight spread through the rest of the field with only six tenths separating Perez in P2 and Bottas in P15. The gap at the top was significantly reduced in the second practice session, with home hero Fernando Alonso just under two tenths behind Verstappen. The Haas of Nico Hulkenberg put in a mighty lap to sit P3 ahead of Perez and Ocon, who completed the top five.

 

Further down the field, the Ferraris were getting into their strides, trying to familiarize themselves with the new upgrades. The team ran the new and old spec with Sainz and Leclerc respectively for the first session, and then used the new spec on both cars for the afternoon session where they sat P6 and P7 at the fall of the chequered flag, separated by only 0.028 seconds. Mercedes will have a long night digging into the data as they try to understand what could be done to improve their fortunes after a less-than-ideal Friday. As it stands, they could have a hard time breaking into the top ten for qualifying but Russell and Hamilton hope to make some improvements for the final practice session going into qualifying, to try and solidify a comfortable spot behind the Red Bulls with a very tight midfield after a strong show from the likes of Alpine and Haas.

 

In the back end of the field, the Williams drivers will have a lot to work on after a seemingly difficult Friday that saw them occupy the last two places over the two sessions. With the chance of rain forecast for Saturday, it will be interesting to see how the teams cope in wet conditions and if any surprises will spring up at the front.