After an unseasonal British heatwave at Silverstone last weekend, the Formula 1 paddock was graced with more high temperatures as practice for the Spanish Grand Prix got underway on Friday.
Mercedes was able to set the pace with a 1-2 finish in both sessions, but remains wary of the tyre problems that led to its defeat on Sunday repeating once again as track temperatures neared 50ºC.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull may have struggled to match the Mercedes cars over a single lap, but a look at the long runs suggest there may be another close fight hotting up in Barcelona.
Recapping all of Friday’s on-track running in Barcelona and the off-track news, Autosport F1 reporter Luke Smith is joined by Autosport technical editor Jake Boxall-Legge for the latest edition of The Autosport Podcast.
You can listen to the podcast either via the player below, or on all good audio platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.