Ahead of today's second session, the air temperature is 30 degrees C, while the track temperature is 53 degrees.

As a reminder, in terms of upgrades, McLaren has a new Rear Wing, having dropped the H-wing this weekend. Additional elements have been added to the rear wing, improving flow conditioning onto the rear wing mainplane and flap elements.

Mercedes has a new Rear Wing, Exhaust Tailpipe and Front Drum. Reducing the span of the central winglet mounted above the rear wing flap sheds local downforce and drag at a ratio appropriate for Madrid, while an additional winglet added to the tailpipe is to increase exhaust flow turning to generate load and drag at a ratio appropriate for this track. In terms of the front drum, the front lip has been reprofiled to improve flow attachment through all steer conditions, resulting in improved flow to the rear of the car.

Red Bull has a new Rear Corner and Floor Bib. Continuing the work from Monza, the new and more robust gaitor gains winglets downstream of the suspension fairings seek to restore the load of earlier races whilst maintaining a sealed wheel bodywork. On the floor bib, when deflected, the laminate and shape have been altered to ideally eliminate deterioration of the structure and aerodynamic surfaces by reducing the local strain.

Ferrari has upgraded its Rear Suspension. The small update on the rear suspension fairing profile, is aimed at adapting the overall incidence and spanwise loading distribution, simply returning a local load benefit.

Alpine has a new Floor board. The forward floor board has been optimised to improve the local pressure distribution and flow management, thereby generating efficient local downforce.

Cadillac has a new ear Wing Flap and Diffuser Vane. The reintroduction of a revised rear wing flap central trailing edge winglet serves to generate more rear aerodynamic load, whilst improving overall aerodynamic stability throughout a range of operating conditions, while a small vertical turning vane has been added to the inner trailing edge of the outboard diffuser sidewall, which improves aerodynamic performance in the outer floor channels and increases the load at the rear of the car.

While FP1 passed without incident, that is more than can be said of F2 qualifying which was red-flagged for some time following a heavy crash.

Russell was quickest earlier, ahead of teammate Antonelli, with the Ferraris third and fourth.

Looking impressive, were Lindblad, Hulkenberg and Bortoleto, while Alonso was 15th quickest.

While there were no incidents worthy of a red flag, we saw plenty of track limits violations, and a number of drivers tripping up over one another on a track the seems to consist entirely of corners.

Cadillac has been fined a total of 1700 euros after two instances of speeding in the pitlane, both involving Perez.

One issue noticed earlier was the amount of graining drivers were seeing, especially on the mediums.

Green light, and Ocon once again leads the way, from Bearman, Russell, Tsunoda and Colapinto. Again, mediums appear to be the tyre of choice.

Whereas Bortoleto was the sole hard runner in the early stages of FP1, this time it is Hulkenberg on the yellow-banded rubber.

Ocon posts a benchmark 37.878, but Russell immediately responds with a 36.011 and then Leclerc a 35.557.

Hamilton goes second with a 35.592, as Lindblad goes third with a 35.762.

Verstappen goes fourth (35.975), ahead of Russell, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Lawson and Colapinto.

Quickest in the opening and final sectors, Antonelli stops the clock at 34.428 as Piastri slots in behind with a 35.446.

"I've got a false neutral," says Norris, "it feels really bad." He is told to pit.

Leclerc goes second with a 35.242, Norris climbs from his car.

Hamilton goes second and Lindblad third.

Quickest in S2, Verstappen improves to fourth, as Lawson goes sixth.

Russell retakes second with PBs in all three sectors.

"Box for flap," says Bortoleto, "man, I'm almost crashing every lap."

"Of course, always the same guy," says Antonelli, having had to taken avoiding action after encountering a slow Perez.

Lawson goes fifth having posted a purple in S2, elsewhere Hamilton has a heart in mouth moment at Turn 17.

"Really struggling with the front end," reports the seven-time world champion.

Verstappen goes top with a 34.378, just 0.050s up on Antonelli, however the Dutchman's time is deleted for a track limits violation in Turn 17.

An update from McLaren. "We identified an issue on Lando's car, which requires a gearbox change. We are working to try and get Lando back out before the end of the session, although time is very tight."

Tsunoda improves to ninth with a 35.408.

With 37 minutes remaining, Alonso has yet to appear, the Spaniard understood to have suffered a clutch failure at the end of FP1 as he performed a practice start.

Lawson, Piastri, Verstappen and Perez are the first to ditch the mediums for softs.

Alonso finally heads out, on mediums, as more drivers switch to the yellow-banded rubber.

The crowd applauds as Alonso goes twentieth with a 37.900.

A 33.926 from Antonelli and a 34.025 from Russell, as Lindblad goes second, behind Leclerc, with a 33.890.

Antonelli retakes the top spot with a 33.662 despite not a single purple, or even a PB!

A 33.811 puts Hamilton second, 0.149s off the pace, as Russell pits for a tweak of his front wing.

"Ah, what is this guy doing man," asks Tsunoda of Hamilton as they head through the Monumental.

Despite a PB in S2, Russell fails to improve on fifth.

Red flag.

Lindblad has gone off and into the wall at Turn 13 after losing the rear. "I'm OK," he tells his team, "I lost it super early."

The session resumes with 13 minutes remaining.

Green light, Gasly leads the way, followed by Bortoleto, Ocon, Bearman and Hulkenberg.

As more drivers emerge, it's a mixture of mediums and softs.

"My steering suddenly feels heavier," reports Verstappen. He is told that the team cannot see any issues and is happy for him to stay out.

Due to the limited time remaining, the focus is on Sunday and the long runs.

Drivers continue to have times deleted, Turn 6 now proving particularly problematic.

Piastri makes full use of the escape road at Turn 7, a la Monaco.

Traffic is clearly going to be an issue in qualifying tomorrow.

"We have an issue, we need to slow the car now," Stroll is told.

Leclerc runs wide in Turn 17, a corner that is proving to be an Achilles heel for the Ferrari pair.

Though fifth on the timesheets, Russell's race pace is looking good.

The session ends. Antonelli is quickest, ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton, Lindblad, Russell, Verstappen, Piastri, Tsunoda, Ocon and Lawson.

Gasly is eleventh, ahead of Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Bearman, Colapinto, Sainz, Alonso, Albon, Perez, Stroll and Bottas.

As we've seen today, particularly in the second session, as the pressure mounts so the mistakes come. Though there was only one red flag, we've seen numerous brushes with the walls and countless examples of drivers tripping up over one another.

We can expect this to have an impact on qualifying, and probably on Sunday, Turn 1 is likely to be a nightmare.