Antonelli leads Ferrari pair in Madrid practice as Lindblad makes history

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Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli laid down the fastest lap of Friday’s second free practice session at the new Madrid circuit, edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in an intriguing opening day at the Spanish Grand Prix venue.

The Mercedes driver, who had finished second to teammate George Russell in the opening practice session, responded strongly in FP2 by setting the benchmark time of 1:33.662.

Antonelli’s lap put him 0.113 seconds clear of Leclerc, while seven-time world champion Hamilton was a further 0.036 seconds behind his Ferrari teammate, completing the top three.

The session was briefly interrupted when Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad became the first Formula One driver to crash at the newly built Madring circuit.

The British youngster lost control and brought out the red flags, bringing his session to an early end with 24 minutes still remaining.

Despite the incident, Lindblad retained fourth place on the timing sheets, finishing 0.149 seconds off Antonelli’s leading time.
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