Lando Norris started this week like Cinderella the night time after the ball. Having partied the night time away on the Grimaldi Palace following his historic , it was again to actuality. Or as Norris put it: “I gained a race after which on Monday I’m at dwelling consuming Kinder bars and ingesting Capri-Solar. Again to regular.”
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You knew what he meant. Monaco was nice, probably the most prestigious victory of his profession, one to inform the grandkids about. However in the case of the championship, it was price no kind of than every other win. The texture-good issue will shortly drain if he doesn’t go on and capitalise on it.
Norris is simply too conscious that after successful the season-opener in Melbourne in spectacular style eight races in the past, he then misplaced a little bit of kind, discovering himself largely outperformed by his team-mate Oscar Piastri over the subsequent few races.
Specifically, a price Norris observe place and the prospect to problem for extra wins. It additionally led to limitless questions on his psychological state and talent to resist strain.
So you possibly can perceive why Norris is refusing to get carried away now, even when the likes of former world champion Nico Rosberg have described his Monaco efficiency as “tremendous highly effective” for his season.
Norris’s victory in Monaco was his first grand prix win because the opening race in Australia – Getty Photographs/Jakub Porzycki
“It’s a raise,” Norris conceded when requested how a lot of a lift it had given him. “However I wouldn’t say anybody race actually lifts me or places me down. It’s extra a mix of outcomes which influences issues extra. I’m not out of the blue feeling on prime of the world as a result of I did one nice quali and one good race.”
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After taking pole in Monaco, Norris conceded he was significantly eager to ship once more in qualifying once more in Barcelona on Saturday. That’s the place he has been missing this yr.
“That doesn’t imply pole [necessarily],” he added. “However having a robust quali the place I really feel I’ve made progress – and that’s solely outlined by me… [Monaco] was the right outcome, however what I might be most pleased with is backing that up.”
His probabilities of doing so in Spain look like pretty wholesome. There was lots of speak this week concerning the new entrance wing laws being launched in Barcelona, stopping groups from flexing them an excessive amount of beneath load. McLaren have been regarded as flexing theirs greater than anybody.
Nevertheless it doesn’t seem to have made a lot of a distinction to the operating order. Norris was quickest in first observe on Friday, and Piastri quickest in second observe, suggesting it’s enterprise as traditional at McLaren.
Oscar Piastri was quickest in second observe after his teammate Lando Norris was quickest in first observe earlier – Albert Gea/Reuters
The opposite huge takeaway from observe was that Ferrari don’t look like very fast once more. After an encouraging weekend in Monaco, the place Charles Leclerc completed runner-up, the Italian marque struggled in Barcelona. Leclerc ended the day fifth on the timesheets, half a second off the tempo, and Hamilton eleventh, an additional two tenths again, at one stage calling his automobile “not driveable”.
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That isn’t an issue Norris is dealing with. His battle is principally with himself. Final weekend, he bought it spot on, and his reward was a celebration on the palace afterwards. “Some quinoa and greens after which a steak,” Norris revealed of the menu on the winner’s banquet. No Kinder bars or Capri-Solar for the Grimaldis.
“It’s cool,” Norris added of the room during which it was held. “The roof opens up, and there are fireworks. And you’ve got the prince…or His Highness and Her Highness. Zak [Brown] was meant to be there however he needed to fly to Indy. There have been a number of hundred individuals.” It was a particular win. In the end, although, it’s the subsequent race that issues when you might have a championship to win.
05:09 PM BSTNaomi Schiff on Sky Sports activities
“It was very tight in that session, apart from Oscar [Piastri]. He was additional down in P1, however three tenths faster than the remainder in P2.
“I feel that is the type of circuit that leans into Oscar’s driving fashion. He’s clearly very completely happy on the market”
05:05 PM BSTLeaderboard in second practice05:00 PM BSTEnd of FP2
The chequered flag is waving, bringing to an finish second observe. Our championship chief Oscar Piastri is quickest on this session forward of George Russell and Max Verstappen. Loads of laps achieved and data gathered for the groups as they put together for qualifying tomorrow.
Oscar Piastri on the prime of the timesheets in second observe – Albert Gea/Reuters
04:55 PM BSTClear operating
In each periods at the moment we have now not had any delays, solely a few very short-lived yellow flags, which implies all of the groups and drivers have had loads of time to collect vital knowledge and get the laps in.
04:52 PM BSTLong-run focus
This is among the space the place the McLaren is so robust, the way it takes care of the tyres particularly in sizzling situations and maintains superb pace. Norris is presently not far behind Russell within the Mercedes on the observe and you may see him closing in on the Mercedes, exhibiting the McLaren’s tempo as all of the drivers are on the race simulations.
Lando Norris was quickest in first observe earlier at the moment – Albert Gea/Reuters
04:49 PM BSTLifting and coasting
Loads of chat about this occurring round a observe like this, particularly into corners like flip one. It will assist with gasoline conservation, tyre administration and cooling the automobile. On that final level, it’s sizzling in Barcelona and the observe temperature is excessive so cooling goes to be important when Sunday’s race rolls round.
04:42 PM BSTRace simulations
Most are presently on the medium tyres for the lengthy runs however the Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli are two of these on the softs.
04:39 PM BSTNico Rosberg on Sky Sports04:36 PM BSTTop ten with simply over 20 minutes to go04:30 PM BSTPiastri quickest
The championship chief goes purple, purple, purple to set a time of a 1:12.760 to go to the highest of the timesheets. The Australian was over half a second down on his teammate Norris earlier however is on it in FP2.
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Leclerc is fifth having misplaced a good bit of time by turns seven, eight and 9. Hamilton is simply ninth and desribed the automobile over staff radio as “not driveable”.
Oscar Piastri is on the prime of the leaderboard – Clive Rose/Getty Photographs
04:29 PM BSTBusy at Haas
After Bearman’s spin and journey into the gravel, he’s again within the pits and his automobile is up on the stands as they modify his ground. He has although remained within the automobile so presumably they imagine it is not going to be for too lengthy.
In the meantime again on the observe…
04:26 PM BSTSoft tyres fitted
The Mercedes duo of Russell and Antonelli are two of the primary to placed on the softs. Russell units a time of a 1:13.046 earlier than Verstappen and Norris come throughout the road with the identical time, 0.024 seconds off Russell’s time. Piastri, Hamilton and Leclerc are but to set a time on the softs.
04:23 PM BSTCelebrities
For followers of Brooklyn 9-9 you’ll prefer to see Terry Crews on the circuit this weekend.
Terry Crews within the Alpine storage – Getty Photographs
04:20 PM BSTHorner on the transfer?
Off the observe there was some hypothesis within the German media that Ferrari is perhaps eyeing up Christian Horner. Here’s what the Pink Bull staff principal has needed to say on these rumours:
04:17 PM BSTIssue at Aston Martin?
Stroll comes onto his staff radio and complains concerning the automobile simply being “so dangerous”. He has now returned to his storage and is straight out of his automobile. They appear to be making some modifications to his seat.
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Down at Haas the mechanics are checking the underside of Bearman’s automobile after his spin and journey into the gravel.
04:14 PM BSTNew chief
Russell has gone to the highest of the timesheets with a 1:13.501, simply over a tenth sooner than Norris.
04:13 PM BSTSpaniard watch
The Aston Martin of Alonso is up in fifth while Sainz within the Williams sits in twelfth.
In the meantime at flip 10 Verstappen has a second and goes deep.
04:12 PM BSTYellow flag!
The Haas of Bearman has a spin on the exit of the lengthy right-hander of flip three and goes for a visit by the gravel. He truly did very properly to maintain it out of the boundaries and keep away from any severe damager, though these tyres won’t be too grateful of that journey into the gravel. The younger British driver is down in seventeenth and is again within the pits.
04:09 PM BSTTeam radio
Piastri has a humorous alternate along with his race engineer Tom Stallard, who tells his driver he was purple within the first sector. Piastri responded by talking about drifting! In all probability not nice for the tyres although to do an excessive amount of drifting.
04:07 PM BSTNorris on it
The person who gained final trip in Monaco was fast in FP1 and he has began second observe in good style as he presently sits prime of the timesheets by almost three tenths of a second. Verstappen has simply gone second, with Norris’ teammate Piastri in third.
04:02 PM BSTTraffic
It could solely be FP2 however we have now lengthy queues within the pit lane. Typical! Loads of drivers heading out on the medium tyres.
04:00 PM BSTGo, go, go!
The inexperienced gentle is on on the finish of the pit lane and FP2 is formally beneath approach. Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon handed over their automobiles for FP1 so you’d assume they’d be very eager to get on the market early. The Ferrari of Leclerc is the primary man out onto the observe.
03:55 PM BSTBernie Collins on Sky Sports03:50 PM BSTChristian Horner talking to Sky Sports activities
“We’ve solely bought a pattern of 1 session up to now [testing the front wings]. For us it’s not an enormous change however what you can not quantify is how huge is it for the others. Will it have an effect on the lengthy runs, will it have an effect on the automobiles in these temperatures?
“We all know McLaren have been very robust within the hotter races however we have now taken confidence out of Imola two weeks in the past that at that kind of circuit we have been robust.
“So I hope right here, along with this wing tune up, we are able to take the struggle to them this weekend. For us, we have to ensure that we take factors off one of many McLarens this weekend.
“We’re just one race win away, 25 factors within the scheme of the championship [drivers] it could possibly disappear like that. So we have now to communicate, we have now to maintain placing strain on them and we have now to get efficiency on the automobile. They’re the basics.”
Christian Horner has his say on the flexi-wing testing – Clive Rose/Getty Photographs
03:46 PM BST‘You drive like an Englishman!’ – my chastening day on the Ferrari take a look at observe
A morning spent grappling with the three.0L V6 Italian stallion has however been a hoot. It’s a privilege to have super-smooth Zani sat alongside me to cross on his nuggets of expertise from years racing within the GT3 European Championships.
The automobile itself, in glistening pink after all, is an absolute magnificence however any useless hope that I’d look the half at are dashed instantly as I bang my helmet on the door whereas awkwardly making an attempt to stoop into the tightly-fitting driver’s cockpit. Zani appears at me and shoots a wry smile as I try and work out the place the gear stick is. There isn’t one. He will get the water sprinklers out for half an hour so we are able to check out some drifting. I fare higher at that, largely drawing on my uncle Blake’s classes in handbrake turns in empty carparks within the Nineties.
03:40 PM BSTHamilton rubbishes claims of rift with Ferrari race engineer
Lewis Hamilton has described hypothesis that he has an issue with Riccardo Adami, his new race engineer at , as “bull—-”, describing their relationship as “nice”.
Hamilton, 40, has had a lot of spiky radio exchanges with the Italian, 11 years older than him at 51, throughout their brief time working collectively.
However talking forward of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, the seven-time world champion dismissed hypothesis that their relationship was an issue, describing Adami as “an excellent man” and “superb to work with”.
“We’re each in it collectively,” Hamilton mentioned. “We each wish to win a world championship collectively and we’re each working in the direction of lifting the staff up. So it [the speculation] is all simply noise and we’re not taking note of it. It doesn’t make a distinction to the job we are attempting to do.”
Lews Hamilton was third quickest in first observe – Albert Gea/Reuters
03:35 PM BSTF1 driver rankings: Hamilton bettered by rookie and Norris exterior prime three
In 2023 and 2024 Norris was comfortably the principle man at McLaren due to his consistency. Every now and then, Piastri was faster however the situations have been uncommon, particularly in qualifying. In 2025 that has been , with Norris enduring a mistake-strewn begin because the Australian thrives.
A few of that has been right down to the tendencies of the MCL39 when pushed to the restrict, however it’s as much as Norris to discover a resolution. His might be an enormous enhance, however he should enhance in qualifying to win the championship.
03:29 PM BSTTimes from FP103:24 PM BSTFP1 recap
Lando Norris was quickest in first observe for the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona. The McLaren man, contemporary from successful in Monaco final weekend, set a time of a 1:13.718, almost three tenths away from Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton was third, along with his teammate Charles Leclerc fourth and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth.
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Each Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have been exterior the highest ten while the 2 Spaniards, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, additionally couldn’t crack the highest ten on dwelling soil.
Second observe begins at 4pm BST.
01:54 PM BSTSecond observe
The drivers might be again out on observe at 4pm BST so we are going to return later to take you thru all of the motion from second observe.
01:49 PM BSTRB staff principal Laurent Mekies talking to Sky Sports activities
“For us, up to now, it has been fairly impartial. However the satan is within the element, so we have to have a cautious element.
“These automobiles are very straightforward to interrupt, when it comes to the best way they carry out, so we must be very, very cautious.”
The RBs have been sixth and eighth respectively in first observe – Joan Monfort/AP
01:45 PM BSTNico Rosberg on Sky Sports activities
“The massive query is, has that Monaco win given Lando [Norris] that mandatory enhance of confidence that he has discovered his mojo once more, and he’s again to his greatest.
“It seemed prefer it on the market simply now. He was completely assured and flying.”
Lando Norris quickest by almost 4 tenths in first observe – Clive Rose/Getty Photographs
01:41 PM BSTAthletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams taking in all of the motion
Footballers in the home in Catalunya, not simply Monaco final weekend – Albert Gea/Reuters
01:38 PM BSTHow the leaderboard appears from FP101:31 PM BSTFP1 completed
That’s it for first observe and it’s the McLaren of Lando Norris who’s quickest within the session, forward of the Pink Bull of Max Verstappen and the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.
01:26 PM BSTEnd of their periods?
There are 5 minutes remaining in FP1 nevertheless it seems Alonso’s session is finished. He reported over staff radio that there was an issue as he got here again into the pits and is out of the automobile.
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It seems the session can be over for the Alpine of Colapinto, who’s out of his automobile, which is on the stands with loads of work occurring.
01:23 PM BSTProblems at Aston Martin?01:20 PM BSTLong runs
Norris is on the delicate tyre and McLaren might be getting some knowledge on how the delicate is performing over an extended run. The McLaren is so good on its tyres, which is an enormous a part of why their race tempo is excellent.
01:15 PM BSTTop ten with quarter-hour to go01:04 PM BSTChanges on the prime
Leclerc had gone half a second sooner than Russell however he’s then pipped on the prime by Verstappen. Norris is on a lap, as is Hamilton.
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The seven-time world champion is simply off the time of Verstappen earlier than Norris goes purple, purple, purple to go almost 4 tenths faster than Verstappen.
Piastri can solely go fifth, greater than half a second down on his teammate Norris.
Lando Norris is presently quickest – Bradley Collyer/PA
01:00 PM BSTNew man on the prime of the timesheets
Mercedes’ George Russell is on the medium tyre and goes simply over half a second away from Norris. The Sauber of Hulkenberg then jumps up into second, simply over a tenth off Russell, however he’s on the delicate tyre.
Hamilton is now again out on observe and has a brand new set of softs on the automobile. His Ferrari teammate Leclerc can be on a brand new set of softs.
12:59 PM BSTMeanwhile at Alpine
It has been a tumultuous few months for the staff, with now former staff principal Oliver Oakes departing they usually have already had a change of drivers with Colapinto changing Jack Doohan. Flavio Briatore is again on the staff and seemingly on the helm and he’ll face the media in between periods.
12:55 PM BSTActivity at Ferrari
The mechanics are exhausting at work on Hamilton’s Ferrari.
12:54 PM BSTNot a lot change?
Verstappen, who sits third on the timesheets for the time being, has additionally been having his say forward of the weekend on the entrance wings:
“It can change the steadiness of the automobile a bit. I don’t count on large time good points or losses between the groups. The wings by no means gave us an enormous efficiency acquire. I have no idea if we bought it unsuitable or didn’t extract probably the most from it.
“Even for the opposite groups, I’m certain it’s manageable. You probably have a superb automobile, you might have a superb automobile. Okay the entrance wing bends a bit much less however you possibly can tune it round.”
Max Verstappen is presently third within the drivers’ standings – Mark Thompson/Getty Photographs
12:47 PM BSTView from the seven-time world champion
Hamilton has almost collided with the RB of Hadjar at flip 12. He’s presently eighth quickest and here’s what he has needed to say on the testing of the versatile entrance wings forward of the weekend:
“The flexi-wing was a band-aid for high quality design I might say – getting the set-up and creating gadgets and mechanisms on the automobile mechanically, all of the engineers are capable of do it.
“It’s nonetheless not that straightforward to get the load that you simply want on the entrance finish at a low pace, or simply rely solely on mechanical grip. Thus far everybody has been managing, some individuals higher than others.
“This weekend goes to be fascinating as a result of we have now bought much less flex on the entrance wing. You’ve lots of entrance finish at high-speed corners and fewer at low pace. Will probably be fascinating to see how that impacts completely different groups. Some groups in all probability did a greater job than others, so I don’t know the way it will have an effect on us.”
What does Lewis consider the entrance wing testing? – Bradley Collyer/PA
12:43 PM BSTThat didn’t final lengthy!
Norris goes purple within the first two sectors and goes quickest general, over two tenths away from Alonso. Right here is the present prime 5:
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12:41 PM BSTHome followers celebrating
Nonetheless early days in FP1 however Alonso is on the prime of the timesheets, a lot to the delight of the house devoted. I believe there is not going to be many occasions in any respect this weekend that Alonso or Sainz might be quickest. He’s a tenth and a half away from Norris. Verstappen is in third adopted by Piastri and Leclerc.
12:38 PM BSTInto the gravel
Hirakawa is in for Ocon at Haas for this session however he has had a visit off the observe and into the gravel on the exit of flip 10 having taken an excessive amount of pace into the nook and went far too deep.
At Williams Sainz remains to be ready for his mechanics to complete engaged on the entrance of his automobile.
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A lot of the automobiles are on the exhausting tyre apart from Aston Martin’s Stroll and Colapinto within the Williams, who’re each on the mediums.
12:32 PM BSTDelay for Sainz
The Spaniard, on dwelling soil, is not going to be heading out any time quickly as his Williams mechanics are performing some work to the entrance of his automobile.
Loads of aero rakes on the automobiles within the early phases of FP1.
12:30 PM BSTReady for motion
The inexperienced gentle is exhibiting on the finish of the pit lane and we’re beneath approach in FP1. At Alpine Victor Martins is in for Alex Albon and down at Haas Ryo Hirakawa is in for Esteban Ocon.
It’s sizzling to say the least in Catalunya, with a 0% likelihood of rain and a observe temperature nearing 50 levels.
12:28 PM BSTHome favourites
Williams’ Carlos Sainz – Kym Illman/Getty Photographs
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso – Siu Wu/Shutterstock
12:25 PM BSTSky Sport’s Nico Rosberg on his former teammate Lewis Hamilton
“It’s a little little bit of a continuation of his kind from final yr, the place there was already a little bit of a dip there. George [Russell] had the higher hand and was beating him at Mercedes.
“Now it has type of continued a bit of bit. He’s just a bit bit missing right here and there, particularly in final tempo in qualifying. We all know Charles [Leclerc] is an unbelievable qualifier, so Lewis has to search out a bit of bit extra there.
“Even he’s the best of all time, in some unspecified time in the future, you’ll get a bit of bit slower – that’s age associated. And when you find yourself 40, it will occur sooner slightly than later. So the query is whether or not that age has come the place you begin to get a bit of bit slower.
“Even a tenth makes an enormous distinction on this sport, particularly when you find yourself up in opposition to a number of the best from the brand new technology, similar to Charles, who is taken into account one of many best possible qualifiers on the market.”
12:22 PM BSTVerstappen and Hamilton dominant in Spain12:19 PM BSTPictures from the pit lane
A take a look at the McLaren entrance wing – Bradley Collyer/PA
A take a look at the Ferrari entrance wing – Bradley Collyer/PA
12:16 PM BSTFlexi-wings!
All the controversy going into this weekend surrounds the testing versatile entrance wings. Here’s a pattern of what a number of the staff principals have been saying:
12:14 PM BSTResults up to now this season
Australia: 1. Lando Norris 2. Max Verstappen 3. George Russell
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China: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell
Japan: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri
Bahrain: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. George Russell 3. Lando Norris
Saudi Arabia: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Max Verstappen 3. Charles Leclerc
Miami: 1. Oscar Piastri 2. Lando Norris 3. George Russell
Imola: 1. Max Verstappen 2. Lando Norris 3. Oscar Piastri
Monaco: 1. Lando Norris 2. Charles Leclerc 3. Oscar Piastri
12:09 PM BSTSchedule for the weekend
As we speak:
First practice- 12.30pm
Second practice- 4pm
Tomorrow:
Third practice- 11.30am
Qualifying- 3pm
Sunday:
Race- 2pm
11:48 AM BSTPreview: No magic bullet
Components One heads to Spain for spherical 9 of the 2025 World Championship. This observe on the outskirts of Barcelona may be very acquainted to the groups because it hosted pre-season testing for many-a-year however this would be the closing time this circuit hosts the Spanish Grand Prix earlier than it heads to Madrid subsequent yr.
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Lando Norris claimed his maiden victory across the streets of Monaco final weekend to shut the hole on his McLaren teammate Ocasr Piastri within the drivers’ standings. It was Norris’ first race win because the opening spherical in Australia. Norris has mentioned that his method is not going to change, irrespective of the place he sits within the championship.
“It’s a nice feeling to be within the lead of the championship and have extra factors than everybody,” Norris mentioned. “However it’s not one thing I take a look at, it’s not one thing that modifications something I do day after day or how exhausting I work, or what I attempt to obtain. I simply attempt to win this weekend and I’ll attempt to win in Montreal and Austria. It’s got nothing to do with what place I’m.”
Piastri leads the best way within the drivers’ standings on 161 factors, simply three factors forward of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen is an additional 22 factors again and Norris believes it will be foolish to depend out the four-time world champion.
“Mathematically the entire grid can win the championship on the minute. In the event you suppose it’s simply out of me and Oscar, then I feel you’re a bit foolish. There are many alternatives. Max can nonetheless win. Ferrari, I count on to get higher by the season.
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“I imply, come on, we’re racing Max each weekend. He has been on the rostrum a number of occasions, he has gained races, he beat us in Imola honest and sq. as a result of he was faster. I have no idea what probably makes you suppose it’s only between me and Oscar.”
There’s lots of consideration this weekend on the flexi-wing assessments. Stiffer assessments on the flexibleness of all entrance wings are being launched this weekend, which is able to take a look at whether or not groups are intentionally exploiting wing flex to reinforce aerodynamics. There have already been assessments on the rear wings from the Chinese language Grand Prix however that is the primary weekend the place the FIA might be investigating the entrance wings. On account of it taking longer to design and construct new entrance wings, that’s the reason the assessments on them haven’t are available in till now.
McLaren presently sit atop the constructors’ standings on 319 factors, properly away from Mercedes. There are 172 factors between the highest two in these standings. Championship chief Piastri believes the brand new laws are overhyped.
“I feel the most important drawback goes to be how overhyped it’s, in all probability,” mentioned Piastri. “We all know what’s completely different. I feel everybody should change, no less than to an extent. I’ve not run the entrance wing however Lando has already run the entrance wing earlier than, this yr. We’re assured that’s not our magic bullet, we would not have a magic bullet, however that’s not our major power.”
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First observe begins at 12.30pm BST.
