Barcelona, spain-The first grand prix Friday under the stricter wing flex regulations presented a familiar facade, yet a subtle undercurrent of driver dissatisfaction permeated the paddock. The source of this unease remains a complex equation,potentially stemming from the more restrictive setups mandated by the new regulations,exacerbated by Barcelona’s scorching track temperatures and demanding,high-speed corners.

Red Bull’s Early Advantage

A notable divergence from the norm emerged: Red Bull demonstrated a strong showing. Max Verstappen, piloting a car equipped with a newly reprofiled front wing tailored for the updated regulations, clocked the fastest long-run times during the second free practice (FP2) session.

While the circuit’s high-speed nature naturally favors the Red Bull car, the team’s typically reserved performance on the opening day of a grand prix weekend makes this showing notably noteworthy.

It was an OK Friday for us, and I felt a bit happier with the car. However we are still not where we want to be but will just continue to keep working at it. There are always ways where we can look at what we are doing and maximise our performance and find more time.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Driver

Verstappen added, Every track is different but we are getting there with the set-up of the car. I have also had Fridays where things weren’t working, so I would say this is a bit more positive.

Analyzing the Timesheets

Oscar Piastri topped the timing sheets, outpacing Verstappen by 0.3 seconds. However, Piastri’s lap occurred later in the session, capitalizing on improved track conditions.verstappen’s run coincided with Lando Norris’, with both drivers posting identical times down to the thousandth of a second, albeit behind George Russell’s Mercedes and Piastri.

Caution is warranted against drawing premature conclusions. Nevertheless, Red Bull’s performance marks a promising start to this new regulatory era. Verstappen’s initial seven-lap stint on medium tires averaged a tenth of a second faster than Norris’ nine-lap run on the same compound. accounting for the lap differential suggests a negligible pace difference, assuming comparable fuel loads and power unit modes.

FP2 Long-Run Averages

• Verstappen: 1m20.09s (7 laps/mediums)
• Norris: 1m20.19s (9 laps/mediums)
• Hamilton: 1m20.31s (9 laps/mediums)
• leclerc: 1m20.67s (4 laps/mediums)
• Russell: 1m20.85s (16 laps/mediums)
• Piastri: 1m20.90s (14 laps/mediums)
• Alonso: 1m20.92s (10 laps/softs)
• Antonelli: 1m20.99s (13 laps/softs)
• Tsunoda: 1m21.02s (8 laps/mediums)

McLaren’s Perspective

Andrea Stella of McLaren acknowledged the intense competition expected this weekend. We certainly know the competition will be particularly tight this weekend. As has been the case at previous circuits with similar track characteristics,notably Japan and Imola,so its been critically important to hit the ground running. We’ve made a good start today and have plenty of data to analyze as we go into Saturday.

Inconsistencies were apparent across the field. Piastri’s impressive single-lap speed contrasted sharply with a lackluster long-run pace, trailing Verstappen by approximately one second (albeit over a longer run) and falling behind both ferraris and Russell’s Mercedes.

Yeah, it was tricky today. with these temperatures… we tried a few things today, just trying to make the car a bit faster.Some have been good, some not so good. So we’re learning.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren Driver

Ferrari’s Struggles and Mercedes’ Challenges

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, approximately 0.5 seconds off the pace in single-lap runs, abandoned his medium-tire long run after only four laps due to rear tire graining, opting for soft tires instead. Conversely, teammate Lewis Hamilton persevered with the mediums, achieving the third-best average time, roughly 0.3 seconds behind Verstappen.

hamilton’s performance fluctuated between sessions. He showed promise in FP1 with quick single laps but suffered severe degradation on the hard tires. In FP2, he lost single-lap pace. The car was OK in FP1 but quite a lot worse in FP2, 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, Hamilton explained.

Leclerc remained optimistic, acknowledging that the car’s Monaco form was unlikely to translate to the faster Barcelona circuit. It’s very warm, so that makes it a bit tricker. And the grip is not as what we want but it has not been to bad. He added, It has been a bit more positive than we expected coming here, which is good. There is more performance in the car which I hope we will unlock tomorrow. I don’t think we are too far out.

Both Mercedes drivers grappled with overheating rear tires, irrespective of whether they used medium (russell) or soft (Antonelli) compounds. Fernando Alonso’s performance hinted at potential improvements for Aston Martin.

Skid Plate Experiment

Each team was mandated to run one car with standard titanium skid plates and the other with steel plates, as part of an experiment prompted by the grass fires at Suzuka. While steel blocks exhibit greater wear, teams maintained equivalent ride heights to facilitate a clearer comparison.

In theory, this should have eliminated any performance disparity between the two types. Piastri, Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Antonelli ran steel plates, while their respective teammates used titanium.

looking Ahead

The unfolding competitive landscape over the next few days promises to be particularly intriguing.