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09/11 13:27 CDT Antonelli leads practice on new Madring track as F1's Spanish
GP returns to Madrid
Antonelli leads practice on new Madring track as F1's Spanish GP returns to
Madrid
By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer
MADRID (AP) --- Kimi Antonelli kept his momentum on the challenging new Madring
track on Friday, leading the way in practice in the return of Formula 1's
Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid.
Antonelli, the points leader coming off an epic comeback win in Monza, set the
fastest time at the hybrid circuit that proved difficult but didn't yield many
major incidents on the first day of track action.
Arvid Lindblad's crash prompted the first red flag of the weekend. He lost
control of his Racing Bull on a turn and hit the barriers.
"It is a very cool circuit to drive around," Antonelli said. "It is a real
challenge for us as drivers, with lots of high-speed corners and walls close
by. You need to be very precise with your lines and good on the brakes.
"It is very easy to lock up as there are a lot of places where you are braking
and turning at the same time. It is a fun challenge and one that I am enjoying.
We've had a good first day here."
Some drivers went off the track and a few brushed the walls at the unforgiving
layout which mixes city roads and purpose-built sections. Many struggled to
avoid track limits, and traffic was an issue as the layout produced few
overtaking opportunities.
Qualifying on Saturday was likely to be key in determining Sunday's winner of
F1's first race in Madrid in 45 years.
"Overtaking is likely going to be a real challenge," Antonelli said. "That
makes our single-lap work tomorrow morning even more important. We will focus
on that overnight, but also looking to ensure we have a good race car for
Sunday."
Drivers said tire degradation would likely be an issue. Teams said the tires
were tricky to get into the correct operating window as grip was surprisingly
good.
"There's a big question mark over the tire degradation," Antonelli's Mercedes
teammate George Russell said. "With the tire degradation we all had, we think a
six-stop race would probably have been the fastest way. I don't think anybody's
going to do a six-stop race on Sunday and I'm sure tire deg will be better, but
with that big long corner, it really hurts the tires. That's going to be a real
challenge for everyone."
Russell was fastest in the first practice, followed by Antonelli, who is
looking to keep his momentum and add to his points lead after rallying from
19th on the grid to win his home Italian GP in Monza last weekend.
Ferraris show good pace as well Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were second and third in the second session, respectively, both about a tenth of a second behind Antonelli. Lindblad was fourth despite his crash, ahead of Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. "I'm really sorry, I lost it super early," rookie Lindblad told his team over the radio. McLaren's Lando Norris had his run cut short early in the second session because of a gearbox problem. Last weekend's victory gave the 20-year-old Antonelli a 66-point lead over Russell with 10 races remaining. The Spanish GP ends the European part of the season.
Exciting new track The 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Madring track, the newest addition to the F1 calendar since Las Vegas' debut three years ago, combines high-speed zones, heavy-braking areas, changes of gradient, blind turns and high-load corners that should give drivers little margin for error. Cars from F2 and F3 were the first to take to the track on Friday, with a fiery crash involving F2 driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak after he hit the barriers and his car caught fire.
Spanish drivers struggle Organizers said tickets for the Spanish GP were sold out, with 350,000 people in total expected to attend over the three days of racing. But it was unlikely they will be celebrating a victory for one of the two Spanish drivers as Fernando Alonso 's Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz's Williams remained off the pace. Alonso missed parts of the second practice because of a clutch problem. He ended 15th in the first session and 17th in the second. Sainz was 17th fastest in the first session and 16th in the second. ___ See AP's full auto racing coverage here
Ferraris show good pace as well Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were second and third in the second session, respectively, both about a tenth of a second behind Antonelli. Lindblad was fourth despite his crash, ahead of Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. "I'm really sorry, I lost it super early," rookie Lindblad told his team over the radio. McLaren's Lando Norris had his run cut short early in the second session because of a gearbox problem. Last weekend's victory gave the 20-year-old Antonelli a 66-point lead over Russell with 10 races remaining. The Spanish GP ends the European part of the season.
Exciting new track The 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Madring track, the newest addition to the F1 calendar since Las Vegas' debut three years ago, combines high-speed zones, heavy-braking areas, changes of gradient, blind turns and high-load corners that should give drivers little margin for error. Cars from F2 and F3 were the first to take to the track on Friday, with a fiery crash involving F2 driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak after he hit the barriers and his car caught fire.
Spanish drivers struggle Organizers said tickets for the Spanish GP were sold out, with 350,000 people in total expected to attend over the three days of racing. But it was unlikely they will be celebrating a victory for one of the two Spanish drivers as Fernando Alonso 's Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz's Williams remained off the pace. Alonso missed parts of the second practice because of a clutch problem. He ended 15th in the first session and 17th in the second. Sainz was 17th fastest in the first session and 16th in the second. ___ See AP's full auto racing coverage here
