Barcelona-Catalunya GP: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen admit Spaniard struggles ‘not to hold’ in Friday practice | F1 News
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both felt out of touch and did not expect to challenge for the lead in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Hamilton missed the first practice, as Ferrari opted to comment on one of the four practice sessions in which the rookie had to run in one of their cars, and was only ninth in the second practice, almost one second behind teammate Charles Leclerc who was fourth.
Ferrari brought the biggest development package to Spain but Hamilton was 1.2 seconds behind pacesetters Lando Norris and George Russell.
“Charles had two sessions and was fourth in the McLarens and Mercedes. It’s clear we’re still very young,” said Hamilton.
“It was unusual that most of the drivers, maybe not Lando, who missed the first session were cars far away from their teammates in the second session.
“And the grip was the lowest, with this generation of car, that I’ve had here. And because it’s so hot the tires only last one lap. It’s a trick to go into the second axle and only have two laps. I really don’t know what I’m going to do with the car. I hope tomorrow we’ll have a better day.”
Verstappen drove in both practice sessions but finished the day about a half-nineteenth behind Norris with Red Bull proving to be more stable than McLaren and Mercedes, according to Norris. Sky Sports F1Martin Brundle from trackside.
Verstappen says the team has “a lot of work to do” and will “definitely” not challenge the leaders in qualifying on Saturday at 3pm, live Sky Sports F1.
“We lose at high speed, low speed and medium speed – it’s pretty much everywhere. All day you just lack grip, feeling about the car and balance. That’s what we’re going to try to fix,” he said.
“I didn’t hear anything well, but I don’t think of anyone. Every time I followed people I couldn’t get hold of them. The cars were floating, the tires didn’t get caught.
“On our side, compared to the top guys, we struggled a little bit with balance but nobody had a good balance.”
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Isack Hadjar and Sergio Perez almost collided during the second training session in Barcelona
Norris: I didn’t feel amazing
After two difficult rounds in Montreal and Monaco, McLaren seems to have returned to their form in Miami where they won the Sprint and Norris came close to winning the Grand Prix.
Norris has failed to score points in the last two rounds due to unreliability but the McLaren car is once again in top form at the regular Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“It’s very fast so we’re playing with the car under a very different regime than where we were a few weeks ago and it seems to be working in a better place,” he said.
“I think it’s a good Friday. There’s still a lot of things to improve on. It wasn’t like I felt amazing or happy. It’s hot so I don’t think anyone’s going to be happy that way. It’s tough with the wind and the conditions. It seems to be working better than the last few weeks which is a good sign.”
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Kimi Antonelli was left frustrated after Oscar Piastri blocked him during the second practice session in Spain
Oscar Piastri, who was third in practice two, added: “The important thing now is to maintain this momentum until tomorrow. Although the first signs are encouraging, there is still a lot to learn and a lot to discover.
“We will continue to work hard to see what else we can pull out in the night before Qualifying.”
Kimi Antonelli was another driver who watched first practice from the sidelines and was a fraction of a second away from the dream in what appeared to be his toughest practice session since the opening rounds of the season.
Antonelli, who is 66 points ahead of Hamilton and 68 points ahead of Russell in the Drivers’ Championship, thinks it will “not be easy” to focus and seek a sixth consecutive victory this weekend.
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On The F1 Show podcast, Craig Slater and David Croft discuss George Russell’s recent misfortune, but say he needs to step up his performance to get back into the fight with Kimi Antonelli.
“It was complicated [on a] one pumpkin. The window is too small. The tires are very hot. I’m just trying to find the best balance,” said the teenager.
“Overall, we still have a lot of work to do. But I’m very confident before tomorrow. It’s been a good long time, so that’s good. I’m looking forward to the changes we’re going to make.”
Sky Sports F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP schedule
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Ahead of this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, we look back at some of the most surprising moments from past races on the circuit.
Saturday June 13
9am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Barcelona-Catalunya GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
1.10pm: F2 Sprint*
2.15pm: Build-up to Barcelona-Catalunya GP*
3pm: BARCELONA-CATALUNYA GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Worthy Booklet
Sunday June 14
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Build-up to Barcelona-Catalunya GP: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP Reaction: Checked Flag
5pm: Ted’s notebook
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Spain for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1. Sunday’s race starts at 2 p.m. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
