Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two at the end of the second hour of practice, more than a tenth clear of Lando Norris.
Teams still adopted a varied approach, with all three compounds used in the early stages.
Mid-session qualifying simulations showed McLaren has pace in hand to finish well clear of George Russell, who again proved the papaya squad’s nearest challenger.
Liam Lawson was 12th fastest, 1.2s off the outright pace and 0.5s back from Isack Hadjar, whose best came on the medium tyres.
The Kiwi was two places ahead of Jack Doohan in the Alpine, the Australian 14th fastest and three places to the good over Pierre Gasly.
Fernando Alonso suffered steering issues in the early moments, the steering wheel coming off while the Spaniard was on track before he refastened it, returned to the pits, and had a new column fitted to his Aston Martin.
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Best |
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren – Mercedes | 27 | 1:30.505s | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren – Mercedes | 27 | 0.154s | 1:30.659s |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 23 | 0.527s | 1:31.032s |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 25 | 0.540s | 1:31.045s |
| 5 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 26 | 0.722s | 1:31.227s |
| 6 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls – Honda | 23 | 0.733s | 1:31.238s |
| 7 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull – Honda | 25 | 0.825s | 1:31.330s |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 21 | 1.071s | 1:31.576s |
| 9 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas – Ferrari | 26 | 1.079s | 1:31.584s |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams – Mercedes | 26 | 1.118s | 1:31.623s |
| 11 | 23 | Alex Albon | Williams – Mercedes | 28 | 1.191s | 1:31.696s |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls – Honda | 25 | 1.201s | 1:31.706s |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber – Ferrari | 23 | 1.267s | 1:31.772s |
| 14 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine – Renault | 26 | 1.283s | 1:31.788s |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin – Mercedes | 18 | 1.320s | 1:31.825s |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas – Ferrari | 25 | 1.365s | 1:31.870s |
| 17 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine – Renault | 26 | 1.442s | 1:31.947s |
| 18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull – Honda | 23 | 1.519s | 1:32.024s |
| 19 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin – Mercedes | 26 | 1.877s | 1:32.382s |
| 20 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber – Ferrari | 22 | 1.991s | 1:32.496s |
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