Defending F1 World Champion Lando Norris set the pace in a closely contested second practice session for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.009s as McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri completed a top three covered by 0.057s.
Norris, who sat out the opening session as McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli made his first appearance in an F1 practice session, moved to the top of the timesheet during the session’s Soft tyre qualifying simulations with a lap of 1:15.426. The Briton’s effort was not on the edge and there were moments when he was clearly wrestling with his skittish McLaren MCL40, but in the end his lap was good enough to see him marginally clear of Russell’s 1:15.435.
Piastri had led the way through the first half of the session after becoming the first driver to dip below the 1m16s mark, posting a 1:15.724 on Medium tyres. Russell, fastest in FP1, initially moved to within two tenths of the McLaren driver despite a snap of oversteer through Turn 3 that sent him briefly beyond the white line, before later improving on Soft tyres.
With 20 minutes gone, the session was briefly interrupted by a Virtual Safety Car when Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls came to a halt at the pit exit. The New Zealander reported that his engine had “died” and then suggested that the gearbox had broken and although his car was recovered without the need for a red flag, he completed only eight laps and finished 13th.
Behind the leading trio, Charles Leclerc placed fourth for Ferrari, 0.373s off Norris’ benchmark, as the Scuderia continued to evaluate updates introduced for the Barcelona weekend, including a revised front wing. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton ended the hour ninth after reporting a “dragging” sensation on the straights earlier in the session and heavy tyre degradation during the long runs.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes, 0.589s away from top spot, after also missing FP1 as Frederik Vesti took over his car. The Italian reported issues with a long brake pedal during the session.
Max Verstappen was sixth for Red Bull, having shown good early pace on Hard tyres before struggling for grip on another set of white-banded tyres that he described as “horrendous”, while Arvid Lindblad impressed in seventh for Racing Bulls. Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Audi, ahead of Hamilton and Isack Hadjar, who completed the top 10.
Nico Hülkenberg and Oliver Bearman followed in 11th and 12th, with Carlos Sainz, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly next. Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the order, as teams turned their focus to long runs and tyre management ahead of the rest of the Barcelona weekend.
2026 FIA Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:15.426 30 222.273
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:15.435 0.009 28 222.246
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:15.483 0.057 24 222.105
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.799 0.373 29 221.179
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:16.015 0.589 31 220.551
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:16.321 0.895 33 219.666
7 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:16.411 0.985 29 219.408
8 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:16.611 1.185 27 218.835
9 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:16.631 1.205 28 218.778
10 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:16.674 1.248 30 218.655
11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:16.934 1.508 31 217.916
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:16.945 1.519 31 217.885
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:16.967 1.541 8 217.823
14 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:17.020 1.594 29 217.673
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:17.051 1.625 30 217.585
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:17.260 1.834 29 216.997
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:17.538 2.112 29 216.219
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:18.225 2.799 6 214.320
19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:18.790 3.364 29 212.783
20 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:19.261 3.835 34 211.518
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:19.286 3.860 21 211.452
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:19.459 4.033 20 210.991
