Oscar Piastri led a McLaren 1-2 with Lando Norris in second to start FP1 in F1 Imola GP, as Carlos Sainz was third in a closely stacked field.
It was not as dramatic in FP1 of Imola GP, but there were several moments for multiple drivers throughout the session. It ended under red flag after a late crash for Sauber’s Gabriel Bortolerto. The Brazilian was another to have a fall in the final corner, which caught out several drivers.
He didn’t make the corner and went straight into the barrier after a gravel run. The final corner already caught out Williams’ Alexander Albon and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen just before that. The Thai had a moment earlier in the lap too, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc going through multiple of his own.
He complained about his helmet as well. Teammate Lewis Hamilton had a moment on the grass to go with it, while some faced cases of impeding. At the end of it, McLaren finished 1-2 after Oscar Piastri set a 1m16.545s lap, which was 0.032s quicker than teammate Norris.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz was third, only 0.052s behind Piastri, as Mercedes’ George Russell and Hamilton rounded the Top 5 – where the Brit was only 0.096s behind the Australian in a close field. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth after sending out a positive message on the radio of the car working.
Verstappen did not enjoy his session in seventh from Albon, as the Sauber pair of Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the Top 10 in a good show from Hinwil-based F1 team. The medium (C5) tyres seemed to have worked better than soft (C6), which is the newest compound.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 11th from Leclerc, who couldn’t improve on his fast laps. Mercedes’ Andreas Kimi Antonelli was only 13th from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson ending up 15th from Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
The Japanese driver did not have a good run ahead of F1 returnee Alpine’s Franco Colapinto. Haas’ Oliver Bearman was 18th, with teammate Esteban Ocon 20th behind Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar. Everyone from Piastri and Bearman finished within a second margin in a close result.
In terms of the PU elements, Bearman took his third set of ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K. At the same time, Gasly and Colapinto took their second ES and CE. Here: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_emilia_romagna_grand_prix_-_new_pu_elements_for_this_competition.pdf
UPDATE: Sainz was handed a 1000 euros fine for speeding in the pitlane by over 13.7 km/hr. Here: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1923392362090226104
Ferrari, meanwhile, was handed a 5000 euros fine for altering tyre pressure of Leclerc during the session but without following the procedure set by the regulation. Here: https://x.com/fiadocsbot/status/1923392362090226104
