While it is not easy to judge and we will get conclusive answers only after quali and race, there hasn’t been much changed by the takedown. The track temperature going up to 50 degrees Celsius meant the tires run out by the end of the lap. The drivers seemed divided on whether to push in first sector and then making the best of whatever the tires offer in the remaining ones or to manage a bit in the first and going all out in the sectors 2-3. In the end it would all come down to the car setup and driver’s comfort.

Mclaren ran a less loaded wing, which made the car fastest on the straights but it didn’t compromise their downforce levels much in the long turns. Piastri was out of sorts in FP1 but came back and set the fastest lap in both FP2-3. He had half a tenth on Norris and was 7 tenths clear of P3 Charles. His gap to Norris is not indicative though as the latter had to abandon his lap due his car porpoising. While Mclaren are certainly the best but unknown factors like engine mode and fuel load might reduce the gap a fair bit.

Verstappen unlike his usual free practices this season, had been right up there in the first two practices. In the last session though, he struggled with grip and was almost a second off Piastri. His race pace in FP2 looked pretty good. His biggest woe here would be not having his teammate with him. Tsunoda has been off pace even more than usual this weekend. He is more than half a second behind in one lap. Tsunoda was behind the Saubers, Racing Bulls and Carlos’s Williams in the last session.

Mercedes wasn’t at its best in the beginning but are back fighting at the top. Unlike Mcl, they ran a high downforce setup. Antonelli while a bit off pace was still competitive.

Ferrari were right in the mix in the first session but fell off a bit. However, their race simulation was competitive and they are not that far off in one lap pace. Charles did show some positive by finishing 3rd overall in the last practice session. Lewis was plagued by gearbox and balance issues throughout.

Williams as they had said are suffering and it seems they would be fighting with Sauber who have been looking a bit better after their upgrades. Haas might be the worst team out there this weekend with both their cars failing to make any impression. Stroll hovered near the bottom Alonso managed to get decent performance from his car. He set decent times throughout despite Aston having unnaturally slow, in fact the slowest top speed out of all; with and without DRS.

Gasly was near the bottom in the last session but going by his earlier performance, his Alpine will be a formidable opponent for the Racing Bulls. Both the RB drivers are in good touch and are the favourites in the midfield. Gasly would be disadvantaged by not having his teammate with him. Franco has been at the bottom in all 3 sessions, and is not very confident in the car. He did have his car on fire in the first session but that does not seem to be the reason of his poor performance.

What to expect in qualifying?

Unless someone puts out a godly lap out there, it’s most likely going to be a Mcl pole. Piastri has shown blistering pace but qualifying is something Norris excels at. Having found his form again in Monaco, he will be all set to out-qualify his teammate.

Russell, Charles and Verstappen would be fighting for the next spot and the Mercedes driver looked to faster than Verstappen this weekend but I’d still give Max an edge just cause he’s max.

Alonso and Gasly would be eyeing Q3, they both showed good pace but the other teams have gotten competitive too and they might just miss out. Hadjar unless he messes up is almost a sure addition in Q3.