Colapinto finishes 14th in Barcelona F1 practice

Argentine driver Franco Colapinto secured 14th place in the final practice session ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Barcelona, with teammate Pierre Gasly finishing just ahead in 13th.

The session, held under warm conditions that heated the asphalt considerably, saw Mercedes driver George Russell emerge as the fastest. Russell's performance continued a strong showing throughout the season, having also topped the first practice session. Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc followed Russell, rounding out the top three.

Colapinto, driving for Alpine, initially placed ninth with a time 1.9 seconds off the lead. However, as the session progressed and faster cars set their laps, his position shifted. Despite pushing his Alpine to its limits in the final minutes, Colapinto could only improve slightly, ultimately finishing 13th before Gasly's late surge pushed him to 14th.

The practice session was briefly interrupted by a red flag when Valtteri Bottas's car experienced a brake failure and went off track. The incident required marshals to remove the car before the session could resume. Meanwhile, Gasly's team, Alpine, had worked through the night to fit a new chassis to his car, a significant effort following a recent Monaco Grand Prix result that had been initially penalized before being reinstated.