Lando Norris tops FP2, warns McLaren must fix reliability overnight
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 12, 2026
Norris tops FP2
Lando Norris, the McLaren driver, topped second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with a 1:15.426 on soft tires, beating Mercedes driver George Russell by 0.009 seconds. Oscar Piastri, the other McLaren driver, finished third, 0.057 seconds behind Norris, giving McLaren two cars in the top three. Charles Leclerc finished fourth for Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was fifth, and Max Verstappen ran sixth. Lewis Hamilton ended the session ninth in his Ferrari. Norris said the car is moving in the right direction, that Barcelona appears to suit McLaren better than recent outings in Monaco and Montreal, and that he still has "things I'm not happy with." Teams ran a mix of short runs and longer stints, but McLaren and Mercedes emerged as the closest rivals for pace in the session.
McLaren must fix reliability
Norris topped the times but warned McLaren must fix reliability overnight, and the team planned to continue work before qualifying. The session included an early stoppage when Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car stopped at the pit exit, which brought out a brief Virtual Safety Car and ended his running early because of a suspected engine or gearbox issue. The Lawson problem shifted many teams away from single-lap trim and toward race simulations and durability checks, and McLaren made clear it would use the intervening hours to address the issues Norris flagged. Norris’s call for fixes echoed the team’s decision to prioritize further changes before they head back out to set qualifying trim.
Tire degradation complaints
The session ran in hot, dry conditions that increased tire degradation and produced widespread grip complaints from drivers, forcing teams to change their programs. After Lawson’s stoppage, squads devoted more time to long-run performance and tire management than to outright single-lap pace, and Piastri showed strong long-run speed, particularly on the medium tire. Verstappen described his tires as "horrendous" during his long-run work in the heat, underscoring the wear problems teams faced. The combination of high track temperatures and grip issues made managing tire life a central theme of FP2 and left teams focused on balance and durability as they prepare for qualifying.
