F1 LIVE | Can rivals match McLaren's qualifying pace after a strong Friday by the papaya team in Barcelona?

Entering the Spanish GP, the new technical directive comes into play. Now, the front wings cannot 'bend' by more than 10 millimetres instead of the previously allowed 15 millimetres.

The first session of the weekend was topped by Lando Norris, as the British driver was the only one in the session to get under the 1:14 mark.

Then during the second session of the Friday, also a McLaren driver who set the quickest lap on the soft tyres: Oscar Piastri. The Australian was roughly three tenths quicker than George Russell and Max Verstappen.

Today, the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya near Montmeló continues with FP3 and then with Qualifying.

The first session will get underway at 12:30 local time (11:30 BST), while Qualifying will begin at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST).

In terms of Formula 2, Red Bull's prodigy, Arvid Lindblad, managed to take his first ever pole position in the series.

Championship leader Piastri was satisfied with his lap in FP2, however, he explained that their rivals, including Max Verstappen, Ferrari and Mercedes also looked quick at moments.

Helmut Marko was also quite optimistic, explaining this has been 'one of Red Bull's best Friday's in a long time' answering GPblog's question. Defending world champion Max Verstappen however still added that: "we are still not where we want to be but will just continue to keep working at it."