George Russell had gone fastest after the first runs with a lap of 1m 29.674s, putting him 0.306s ahead of Norris, while Max Verstappen followed in third. Carlos Sainz went on to displace Norris in second following a switch to the soft tyres, the Spaniard seemingly getting more comfortable with the Williams as he continues to adjust to his new car.
Attentions then started to turn to the soft-shod runs for many others, with Norris promptly setting a new benchmark via his effort of 1m 29.246s – three-tenths ahead of Russell and four-tenths clear of team mate Piastri.
Gasly subsequently caused a stir by shooting to the top of the timesheets by a mere seven-thousandths from Norris, the Frenchman arriving into the weekend after scoring Alpine’s first points of the season with a P7 result in Bahrain.
There was a moment for Sainz when the Williams driver encountered a slow-moving Ferrari on the track, the four-time race winner voicing his concerns about the incident over the radio. The Racing Bulls, meanwhile, left their soft tyre runs until late in the session, with Isack Hadjar unhappy after having to abandon his initial effort amid traffic on the circuit.
