Max Verstappen finishes P6 in second practice in Spain: 'Not too bad'

Published on 11 September 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished sixth during the second free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix. At the brand-new Madring, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver set a fastest lap of 1:34.063, four-tenths of a second slower than Kimi Antonelli, who topped the timesheets in his Mercedes. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished P2 and P3 respectively.

Speaking after Friday’s running, Max said: “Not too bad. We are still trying to find some more pace over a single lap and to better understand the tyres during the long runs. We are finding more speed with every lap. There are always little things, such as the balance of the car, that you want to work on during free practice to improve. We will continue with that tomorrow.”

At the start of the second free practice session, many drivers head straight out onto the track. They are keen to rack up plenty of laps at the Madring, the new street circuit near Madrid where a Grand Prix will be held for the first time this weekend.

Running on the medium-compound tyres, Verstappen sets a time of 1:35.975 on his first flying lap. Max then continues on the same set of tyres, improving his time twice. With a lap time of 1:34.378, Max briefly moves to the top of the timesheets, although he soon loses that time after running off the track at Turn 17. The Mercedes drivers then raise the pace, with Antonelli setting the fastest time of 1:33.662.

Max heads out on a set of soft tyres and sets a 1:34.063, briefly putting him third behind the two Mercedes cars. However, Arvid Lindblad surprisingly goes faster than Verstappen shortly afterwards. The Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc then also dip below Verstappen’s time.

With 25 minutes remaining on the clock, the red flag is brought out after Lindblad crashes. The rookie loses the rear of his Racing Bulls on turn-in at Turn 13 before sliding sideways into the Tech-Pro barrier. Lindblad is able to climb out of his heavily damaged car uninjured.

With twelve minutes remaining, the session resumes. Max once again heads out on the soft tyres, but reports over the team radio that his steering feels heavier. Verstappen nevertheless continues circulating on track. As is customary during second practice, the focus shifts towards race pace, meaning that no further lap times are improved.

Antonelli therefore ends the session as the fastest driver, with Leclerc more than a tenth of a second behind in P2 and Hamilton in P3. Arvid Lindblad surprisingly finishes fourth, with George Russell in fifth, while Verstappen ends the session in sixth. Reigning world champion Lando Norris spends the entire session in the pits, with the mechanics working hard on the rear of the McLaren.

Results second free practice Spain: