Kimi Antonelli set the pace in Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, leading a competitive field. The Mercedes driver finished just over 0.1 seconds ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who secured the second and third fastest times respectively.
Lindblad’s Incident and Championship Standings
British rookie Arvid Lindblad, currently 11th in the drivers’ championship, experienced a dramatic session. The 19-year-old lost control at Turn 13, sliding sideways into the wall. The impact caused significant damage to his front and rear suspension and broke his front wing. Despite the crash, Lindblad finished the session fourth fastest, trailing Antonelli by 0.228 seconds.
- Antonelli’s team-mate George Russell, who trails the Italian by 66 points in the championship, recorded the fifth fastest time, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
- World champion Lando Norris failed to set a representative time due to a gearbox issue in his McLaren.
Lindblad’s incident was the only one of the day in Formula 1 running, but it did back up some remarks from Russell before the first session that the new Madrid track had “less margin than Monaco, purely because of the speed”.
