Ahead of today's sole practice session the air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 39 degrees.

Like FP1 it is somewhat unrepresentative due to the time of day and the conditions in which it takes place, not forgetting the fact that there were nine reserve drives on duty yesterday morning.

Norris was quickest yesterday evening, ahead of Verstappen, while Piastri never got to post a representative time on the softs and was looking to make a few tweaks overnight.

Russell was also in the mix, but of even more interest was the pace of Bearman, the Sauber pair, Hadjar and Alonso, who could all be a concern in qualifying and thereby the race.

Nobody knows better than the Spaniard how difficult it is to overtake here, so good grid positions are vital.

Aston Martin, Alpine, RB and Williams all broke the curfew last night but in each case it was only the second time and therefore within the permitted allowance.

Also, Alonso and Stroll have both been summoned by the stewards for missing the "fan engagement activity", which, in our humble opinion, is deserving of a few extra points in itself.

In both sessions Pirelli found some instances of graining, mainly on the front-right, which has the effect of slightly accelerating degradation. In this context, the most consistent race tyres seem to be the medium and hard, whereas the soft appears to be more suited to a flying lap.

One factor to bear in mind though is track evolution. The support races are laying down rubber onto a surface that was initially quite dirty, improving grip. This means that graining could well be reduced, putting the soft C5 back into play.

A one-stop strategy seems to be most likely. Nonetheless, as the weekend progresses a two-stopper could also become a possibility. It's not by chance that both McLarens and the Alonso did not run the hard at all in FP2, thereby saving a new set.

The pitlane opens and after a couple of minutes Stroll gets proceedings underway, followed by his teammate, both on hards. Both pit at the end of an exploratory lap, switch to mediums and head out again.

As the Aston Martin pair pit yet again, the Alpine duo head out... on softs. Both Gasly and Colapinto were woefully off the pace yesterday.

Colapinto crosses the line at 26.591 and his teammate at 25.984.

Twelve minutes in and Norris is only the fifth driver to head out, and the first of the big guns. He is followed by Leclerc, both on softs.

Norris posts a 24.728 and Leclerc a 25.756, as Ocon and Hamilton head out.

Next to appear are the Sauber pair, this being the Swiss team's final race weekend.

Gasly improves to second with a 25.491, but is demoted when Hamilton bangs in a 25.159.

At this point, with 40 minutes remaining, Piastri heads out, along with the Aston Martin pair, Albon, Bearman and Sainz. Alonso is on hards.

Stroll goes third, like Norris and Hamilton he is on softs.

Tsunoda goes second with a 24.893 as Piastri goes third with a 25.128.

Norris improves to 24.533, Alonso sixth and Albon seventh.

Antonelli and Verstappen finally head out, leaving Russell as the only no show.

Bearman goes second (24.541), the Briton having described his car as insanely good yesterday.

Norris runs wide after encountering a very slow Tsunoda on the racing line in Turn 11. The Briton did well to avoid a nasty incident. The Japanese has been noted for impeding.

PBs in all three sectors see Hamilton go top (24.470), but Verstappen responds with a 24.245.

Stroll goes second with a 24.304 as Bortoleto goes sixth and Hulkenberg seventh, however Tsunoda subsequently splits them with a 24.693.

Lawson unhappy with a dawdling Ocon, as Bearman improves to third with a 24.331.

That Norris/Tsunoda incident will be investigated after the session.

Russell goes thirteenth with a 25.117, Antonelli is currently seventeenth (25.431).

The session is red-flagged when Hamilton goes off and into the barrier at Turn 9. Replay shows the rear simply stepping out after he ran over the kerb, the Briton having posted PBs in the opening two sectors.

"Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear," he reports.

The front of the car badly damaged, Hamilton picks up a large piece of front wing and throws it into the cockpit of his car.

The clock continues to count down with 26 minutes remaining.

While the stoppage is hurting everyone, it will definitely be harming Piastri who is currently 15th and 0.883s off the pace, the Australian still needing to tweak his car after yesterday.

The session resumes with 17 minutes remaining, understandably there is a long queue in the pitlane, headed by the Racing Bulls. Albon is noted for an unsafe release.

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

Hadjar (mediums) remains twelfth, while Ocon goes seventh and Gasly thirteenth.

As Tsunoda goes purple in S2, and Russell remains thirteenth, Verstappen consolidates his top spot with a 24.116.

Piastri goes quickest in S1, as Tsunoda goes ninth. Another purple for Piastri in S2, finally crossing the line at 23.593 to go top by 0.523s. The Australian was on fresh softs while Verstappen was on used.

Norris, on fresh softs, goes tops with a 23.338, despite only being quickest in the final sector.

Hulkenberg goes purple in S2, crossing the line at 23.870 to go third.

Tsunoda and Antonelli have clashed in the pitlane following an unsafe release by Mercedes. The Italian driver T-bones the Red Bull.

Lawson goes fourth with a 23.947 as Alonso goes purple in S1. The Spaniard crosses the line at 23.882 to go fourth.

Bearman goes third but is demoted by his Haas teammate who posts a 23.605 as the midfield teams continue to be a threat.

Russell goes top with a 23.334 as Verstappen improves to third, 0.180s off the Briton's pace.

Stroll goes fourteenth, as the times continue to tumble as the track evolves.

"The car still jumps, I can't keep my feet on the pedal," reports Verstappen.

Hulkenberg remains tenth and Piastri fourth as Norris remains second, having lost time in the final sector.

A late charge sees Alonso go fourth (23.585) while Bortoleto goes eleventh and Sainz twelfth.

An even later charge sees Verstappen improve to 23.458 - 0.124s off Russell's pace - but remain third.

The session ends. Russell is quickest, ahead of Norris, Verstappen, Alonso, Piastri, Ocon, Bearman, Leclerc, Antonelli and Albon.

Bortoleto is eleventh, ahead of Sainz, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Lawson, Hadjar, Gasly, Hamilton, Colapinto and Tsunoda.

A tough one for Piastri, while Verstappen remains unhappy with his car - isn't he always - however, other than the usual issues with track limits and traffic, qualifying could well see some upsets in the shape of midfielders pulling a major surprise. They might have no say in the Drivers' Championship, but, other than ego there is the little matter of the constructor standings, which, of course, decide the prize money.

There are also a couple of ongoing investigations, Tsunoda for impeding, Albon for an unsafe release and Antonelli for that unsafe release.