McLaren's Piastri tops Friday practice in Barcelona

McLaren's Oscar Piastri topped Friday believe astatine nan Spanish Grand Prix from George Russell's Mercedes.

Piastri was 0.286 seconds quicker than Russell, pinch Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris 3rd and 4th a further 0.024secs down aft clocking precisely nan aforesaid thigh time.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was 5th - six places and 0.234secs up of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who complained complete nan power his car was "undriveable".

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was sixth fastest, up of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly, and nan Racing Bulls of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson completed nan apical 10.

Piastri's pace-setting thigh meant McLaren topped some sessions - Norris was quickest by 0.367secs from Verstappen successful nan first convention earlier successful nan afternoon.

On nan title runs, Verstappen and Norris group nan gait connected nan medium-compound tyres, nan Dutchman appearing to person a very constrictive advantage.

McLaren and Red Bull truthful look intimately matched connected a play that marks nan preamble of a norm alteration aimed astatine clamping down connected nan elasticity of beforehand wings.

But it will beryllium difficult to judge nan effect of nan trial because comparative shape has swung depending connected circuit characteristics this year.

Verstappen and Red Bull person tended to beryllium a lucifer for McLaren connected faster circuits, and Barcelona falls into a akin class location pinch Suzuka, Jeddah and Imola.

At nan aforesaid time, though, nan upwind is basking successful Spain, astatine astir 30C, and McLaren's biggest advantage has been successful managing rear-tyre temperatures complete a title stint, which could go a facet successful nan race.

The caller front-wing elasticity trial introduced by governing assemblage nan FIA is nan talking constituent of nan weekend. It is aimed astatine reducing nan magnitude teams tin usage flexing wings to power aerodynamic performance.

Red Bull - nan premier unit down persuading nan FIA to present nan trial - and Ferrari dream nan tougher restrictions will boost their competitiveness. McLaren judge it will person adjacent to nary effect connected them.

Teams person agelong utilized front-wing elasticity to boost velocity connected nan straights while retaining downforce successful nan corners. The thought is nan helping 'backs off' connected nan consecutive to trim resistance earlier moving backmost into its maximum downforce-producing position for nan corners.

But nether this existent procreation of cars nan arena has proved useful successful tuning nan cars betwixt high- and low-speed cornering performance.

The generations of cars introduced pinch caller rules successful 2022, which attraction connected underbody downforce produced by alleged Venturi tunnels, person proved prone to low-speed understeer - a deficiency of beforehand grip - and high-speed oversteer - excessively overmuch beforehand grip.

By making nan beforehand wings go little effective astatine higher speeds, teams tin trim this nervousness successful speedy corners without making nan cars excessively difficult to thrust astatine debased speed.

McLaren and Mercedes are wide perceived to person been nan pioneers of this peculiar approach, but it remains to beryllium seen whether nan tougher tests will person immoderate effect.