The National Times - Piastri bounces back in second practice at the Spanish Grand Prix

Piastri clocked a best lap of 1 minute 12.760 seconds to beat Russell by 0.286s after winding up fifth in FP1 when title rival and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, who trails him by three points in the title race, was fastest.

Four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull was third, three-tenths adrift, ahead of Norris, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.

Local hero two-time champion Fernando Alonso was seventh for Aston Martin ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly and RB's rookies Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton struggled with his Ferrari to 11th, after taking third place earlier.

Neither session offered evidence of any changes in performance, following the introduction of a new rule restricting front wing flexibility.

On a hot afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya, Leclerc was first out on mediums, hoping to maintain Ferrari's improvement in Monaco, but instead found it difficult to stay with the pace-setting McLarens.

Mercedes had clearly improved their set-up since a poor showing in FP1 with Russell first and Antonelli fifth after 20 minutes.

By contrast, Leclerc was down in eighth and Hamilton 11th having been fourth and third in the earlier session.

Hamilton's largely disappointing form since joining Ferrari was a hot topic again prompted by his former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, the 2016 champion, who suggested, on SkyF1, that his age was a factor.

"Even if he's the greatest of all time, at some point you are going to get a little bit slower and that’s age related," said Rosberg.

"And when you are 40, it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.

"Even a tenth makes a huge difference in this sport especially if you are up against some of the greatest from the new generation – namely Charles Leclerc, who is one of the absolute best qualifiers."

Hamilton, adrift in 11th, complained his Ferrari was "not driveable" before the high-fuel runs ended a session of few surprises or incidents.

T.Allen--TNT