RACE DEBRIEF

    Max Verstappen followed up his Monaco victory by leading the way during Friday practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, topping both FP1 and FP2 en route to a new record time around the revised Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    With the track now featuring a high-speed final section, replacing the chicane used from 2007 to 2022, Verstappen pumped in a 1m 14.606s in first practice, followed by a 1m 13.907s in the second session to set the early benchmark.

    FP2: Verstappen edges out Alonso during second Barcelona practice session

    Verstappen’s time is the fastest ever lap of the chicane-less layout in an official F1 session, beating the pole position time posted by Fernando Alonso – coincidentally his nearest rival on Friday – back in 2006.

    Watch the footage of Friday’s quickest effort in the video player above.