Piastri chasing single-lap pace ahead of Spanish Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri was left chasing single-lap pace following the opening day of practice for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Australian ended the day with the 12th fastest time, his 1:14.582s just over seven-tenths off the pace laid down by Max Verstappen.

Piastri clocked 53 laps across the day’s two sessions and was left happy with his long-run performance.

“A bit happier now after FP2,” he said.

“A bit of work to do on one lap for myself but the continuous laps seem to be pretty solid, about where we expect to be.

“So yeah, a decent day, made some good improvements from P1 to P2 and try and go a bit further tomorrow.”

Heading into the weekend, Piastri was one of the few drivers who’d driven the revised circuit configuration in an F1 car.

When it was mooted that the final chicane would not be used for this year’s event, McLaren tested with Piastri at the Spanish venue using its traditional layout.

Heading this weekend’s event, he expected the penultimate turn would be flat, though admitted that he wouldn’t be the first to brave the final corner at full throttle.

“The last two corners are a lot better than the little chicane that we had before,” he said following Friday’s running

“I think everyone will probably say that. It feels nice.

“The last corner is a real big commitment corner now, which is exciting for us.

“The high-speed corners are always the most enjoyable.

“I like to track change.”

The change proved popular with drivers, George Russell suggesting the revision has transformed one of the worst corners in Formula 1 into one of the best.

A final hour of practice remains on Saturday, starting from 12:30 local time (20:30 AEST), ahead of Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix.