F1 Today | McLaren emerge as Mercedes' main rival as Gasly's Monaco podium restored

The second practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend saw McLaren and Mercedes establish themselves as the teams to beat, with Norris ultimately ending the afternoon on top after a closely fought battle at the front. The margins remained incredibly small throughout the session as changing track conditions and soft-tyre runs continuously shuffled the order.

Early on, several drivers traded fastest laps while completing their medium-tyre programmes, but the pace intensified once qualifying simulations began. Russell looked particularly strong and briefly appeared on course to finish the session fastest, only for McLaren to respond in the closing stages of the soft-tyre runs. Norris eventually emerged on top by the narrowest of margins, with the leading positions separated by just a few hundredths of a second.

Attention then shifted towards race preparation, where both McLaren and Mercedes continued to impress. The two outfits appeared closely matched over longer stints, showing strong consistency despite the demanding conditions and tyre degradation. Ferrari also produced encouraging numbers during race simulations, with Leclerc displaying competitive pace as the Scuderia looked far more comfortable on heavier fuel loads than it had over a single lap.

Before the start of FP2, Alpine was handed a significant boost after successfully challenging the penalty that had stripped Gasly of a podium finish in Monaco. The French outfit submitted a Right of Review request to the FIA, prompting the stewards to re-examine the circumstances surrounding the sanction imposed after last Sunday's race. Following that review, the stewards decided to rescind the penalties, restoring Gasly to third place in the final classification.

The case centred around the way speed had been calculated at the Monaco pit entry. Alpine argued that the reference distance used for the measurement should have been based on a different value provided by the official timing system, an interpretation that was ultimately accepted by the stewards. The investigation also considered changes made to the pit-entry layout, with the revised barrier positioning potentially allowing drivers to follow a different trajectory compared to previous years.

After reviewing the additional evidence and technical information presented by the team, the stewards concluded that there were sufficient grounds to overturn the original decision. The outcome promoted Gasly back onto the podium and handed Alpine a valuable boost in both the race result and the championship standings ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.