The Latest Breaking News from Alex Albon Williams

Although a drying line had emerged by the start of Q2, offering drivers to take a chance on running with soft tyres, the conditions had worsened by the start of the final part of qualifying and the rain picked up in intensity.

Although a dry line had emerged by the start of Q2, offering drivers to take a chance on running with soft tyres, the conditions had worsened by the start of the final part of qualifying and the rain picked up in intensity.

Spots of rain falling ahead of Q1 led to that segment featuring many offs and a red flag, with Fernando Alonso picking up damage in an incident that meant he was not a pole threat.

Teams were braced for inclement weather, with thunderstorms fast approaching Barcelona from the Pyrenees in the north.

Championship leader Max Verstappen both practice sessions on Friday for Red Bull, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso emerging as his nearest rival in FP2.

Following his victory in Monaco last weekend, Verstappen carried on where he left off by clocking the fastest times in both free practice sessions at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on Friday.

At the start of the 60-minute session, AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries set the first-place benchmark at 1m17.918s during the opening laps using the prototype compound construction set to become standard across Pirelli's range from the upcoming British GP, which several other runners sampled early on too.

At the start of the 60-minute session, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries set the first-place benchmark at 1m17.918s during the opening laps using the prototype compound construction set to become standard across Pirelli’s range from the upcoming British GP, which several other runners sampled early on too.

Verstappen set his headline time halfway through FP1 as the Red Bulls proved to be on the pace straight away, and looked untouchable in a warning shot to his rivals as they hope to end the Milton Keynes squad's monopoly on race wins in 2023.