OSCAR PIASTRI knocked Lando Norris off top spot in practice as McLaren set the pace for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Five days after Norris won in Monaco to reignite his stuttering title charge, the British driver soared to first place in the opening running at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

However, championship leader Piastri, who Norris trails by three points, bounced back in the day’s concluding session to finish fastest.

George Russell took second for Mercedes, 0.286 seconds behind Piastri, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third. Norris finished in fourth, three tenths behind his McLaren team-mate, while Lewis Hamilton was a distant 11th in his Ferrari.

McLaren have won six of the eight rounds so far, and their rivals might have hoped that a clampdown on flexible front wings – which some believe has contributed to the British team’s rise – would slow them down.

However, the early evidence of the rule tweak introduced for this race appears to have done little to influence McLaren’s speed.

Mercedes endured a woeful weekend in Monaco last weekend with both Russell and Kimi Antonelli out of the points. But Russell was the closest contender to Piastri in the second session with Antonelli four places back and three tenths behind his team-mate.

Verstappen is the only driver outside of McLaren to win a race this season following victories in Japan and Imola to put him 25 points off the title pace.

The four-time world champion indicated here that he will not be able to challenge Norris and Piastri over the championship stretch, but he can at least take confidence from being in contention in Spain. He set an identical time to Norris – albeit both men were 0.310 sec slower than Piastri.

Hamilton heads into the ninth round of his Ferrari career 98 points behind Piastri in the standings. Hamilton won a sprint race at the second round in China but he has failed to finish on the podium since completing his blockbuster move from Mercedes to Ferrari.

“The car is not driveable, mate,” said Hamilton with his best lap failing to make it into the top 10. His team-mate Charles Leclerc finished six places and nearly three tenths better off in fifth.