Piastri expects 'tight battle' for pole in Spain

McLaren's Oscar Piastri says he expects a "tight battle" for pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix after setting the pace in Friday practice.

The world championship leader led Mercedes' George Russell by 0.286 seconds.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third and Lando Norris fourth. They set exactly the same lap time as each other - 0.024secs behind Russell - but four-time world champion Verstappen was classified third because he set his first.

"It's been a bit of an up and down day, ending on an up," said Australian Piastri, 24.

"Verstappen has been quick all day, Ferrari have been there, Mercedes popped up at the end. It is going to be a tight battle tomorrow, definitely some things to try and work on."

Verstappen said he had had an "OK Friday" and added a much-anticipated rule change introduced for this weekend to reduce front wing flexibility had affected the order "not a lot - but from my side that was also expected".

Briton Norris, winner in Monaco five days ago to move within three points of Piastri at the head of the championship standings, said: "Felt better in P1 than in P2, but trying things and will keep trying to improve for tomorrow."

Red Bull and Ferrari had hoped the tougher test on front wings would impact McLaren more than them, but McLaren have always said they expected it to have little impact.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth, 0.5secs off the pace, but six places and 0.234secs ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who complained over the radio that his car was "undriveable".

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

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

Piastri's pace-setting lap meant McLaren topped both sessions - his team-mate Norris was quickest by 0.367secs from Verstappen in the first session earlier in the afternoon.

On the race runs, Verstappen and Norris set the pace on the medium-compound tyres, the Dutchman with a very narrow advantage.

Hamilton, though, said his day had been "not fun".

"You arrive on Friday and you're hoping for a good day and it doesn't go well," added the 40-year-old. "But you have a weekend in Monaco, where all of a sudden the car feels great.

"The car wasn't too bad in P1, P2 quite a lot worse, but we had some problem which meant we were losing a lot of downforce. Hopefully with that fixed for tomorrow, we will be in a better place."

Leclerc said he does not think Ferrari are "too far out".

"It has been a bit more positive than we expected coming here, which is good," added the 27-year-old. "There is more performance in the car which I hope we will unlock tomorrow."

McLaren and Red Bull looked closely matched early in a weekend that Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur had said last weekend's race in Monaco "can be a game-changer for everybody".

The test, which limits the amount front wings can move when a specific load is attached in certain places, has required all teams to introduce new front wings.

However, Russell, asked about the effect of the rule, gave a sarcastic response, which referenced Piastri's advantage at the head of the field.

"[It's] clearly slowed McLaren down a lot," he said. "So good news."

Even without the rule change, McLaren were expecting a tougher challenge from Red Bull in Spain because the circuit characteristics are similar to tracks where Verstappen has been strong this year.

Verstappen and Red Bull have tended to be a match for McLaren on faster circuits, and Barcelona falls into a similar category there with Suzuka, Jeddah and Imola.

At the same time, though, the weather is hot in Spain, at about 30C, and McLaren's biggest advantage has been in managing rear tyre temperatures over a race stint, which could become a factor in the race.

The new front-wing flexibility test introduced by governing body, the FIA, is the talking point of the weekend. It is aimed at reducing the amount teams can use flexing wings to control aerodynamic performance.

Red Bull, the prime force behind persuading the FIA to introduce the test, and Ferrari hope the tougher restrictions will boost their competitive hopes, while McLaren believe it will have next to no effect on them.

Teams have long used front-wing flexibility to boost speed on the straights while retaining downforce in the corners. The idea is that the wing 'backs off' on the straight to reduce drag before moving back into its maximum downforce-producing position for the corners.

But under this current generation of cars the phenomenon has proved useful in tuning the cars between high and low-speed cornering performance.

The generations of cars introduced with new rules in 2022, which focus on underbody downforce produced by so-called Venturi tunnels, have proved prone to low-speed understeer - a lack of front grip - and high-speed oversteer, which is too much front grip.

By making the front wings become less effective at higher speeds, teams can reduce this nervousness in quick corners without making the cars too hard to drive at low speed.

McLaren and Mercedes are widely perceived to have been the pioneers of this particular approach, but it remains to be seen whether the tougher tests will have any effect.