McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have voiced their belief that this weekend’s Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix will be a competitive affair, with the Australian predicting a “tight battle”.
Both Norris and Piastri topped each free practice session on Friday, potentially indicating that the new flexi-wing technical directive has made little difference to McLaren’s performance.
However both men are tight-lipped on their chances, shifting focus onto their rivals, voicing their assertion that other teams are in the fight for victory.
“I mean it’s been a bit up and down, ending on an up,” Piastri said. “Our competitors look quick, I think Verstappen’s been quick all day, Ferrari have been there, Mercedes popped up at the end, so yeah, it’s going to be a tight battle tomorrow. But definitely still some things to try and work on.”
When asked if the possibility of the other teams looking competitive, Piastri appeared content and realistic.
“Not necessarily, I mean, I think we expected Red Bull to be quick, so that’s not a big surprise, but yeah, just trying to make the car a bit faster, that’s all,” he said.
“I think we’ve tried a few things today. Some have been good, some have been not so good and we’re learning, so think it’s been a good day.”
McLaren car provides ‘good baseline’ for competitive weekend
Norris’ FP1 topping came off the back of his season-rejuvenating win at Monaco, and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw him hold an advantage over his team-mate last year.
The Brit kept his powder dry in terms of the competition’s chances, but seemed pleased with the MCL39’s showing in practice.
When asked if the day’s running gave him a clear direction on ironing out the small details, Norris replied: “Yeah, it’s tiny things. I think something we always do very good is turn up with a good baseline and find it difficult to improve from that point onwards, which is a good thing not a bad thing.
“Just allows us to try different directions, try different things and try and get a bit of a feel.”
READ MORE – F1 2025 Spanish Grand Prix – FP2 Results
