In the first European strech of the season, the drivers are going to be taking to the track for FP1 at the Imola GP for round 7 of the 2025 season. As teams such as Ferrari, Aston Martin, Red Bull, Racing Bulls have brought in upgrades to their machinery, this session ought to reveal the full potential of the cars around the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. As the gap to McLaren in the Constructors’ championship deepens, all teams aim to improve their setup to catch up on the Woking-based team.
With limited overtaking opportunities around Imola’s quick 19 turns, it’s crucial for teams to maximize learning during practice sessions to secure the best possible qualifying positions.
This is also Franco Colapinto’s – potentially temporary – return to Formula 1 for his tenth Grand Prix weekend. Colapinto stepped in to replace Jack Doohan in the Alpine. The Argentinian driver has won around Imola in F2 machinery. The Alpine team have suffered through quite some turnover in recent years, including an additional change in team principals as Flavio Briatore now leads the French team.
For this Imola GP weekend, the C6 tyre compound, Pirelli’s softest compound, makes it debut on track.
Green flag
At the beginning of the session, most of the field opted for soft tyres, though a few teams chose to go out on medium tyres.
Alonso took to the radio early as he nearly crashed with Leclerc, thus bailing out of a push lap. Leclerc immediatly apologized for impeding the Spaniard. Eventually setting a quick lap, Alonso set the fastest time with a 1:18.281.
Local rising star Kimi Antonelli set a 1:18.780 on soft tyres, getting him to the top of the timesheets. He was then pushed back to second place as Tsunoda set a 1:18.538.
For his return to F1, Colapinto set a fast lap in the Alpine of 1:19.297 on medium tyres, taking him to 13th position. Meanwhile, Norris was leading the timesheets with 48 minutes remaining to the session with a 1:17.491, closely followed by the two Mercedes.
Ferrari struggles
Tifosi favorite Charles Leclerc brushed the gravel for the second time in turn 15. Going for another push lap a few moments later, Leclerc set a 1:17.869 on his soft tyres, securing fourth position. Nonetheless, he was quickly overtaken by his teammate Hamilton, who set a 1:17.718, reaching third position. Leclerc notably struggled with helmet lift throughout the entire session.
A McLaren and Mercedes fight
Still topping the timesheets, Norris improved on his benchmark, setting a 1:17.125. Simultaneously, Hadjar set the fastest first sector and an overall quick lap of 1:17.662, taking his car to 6th position. With 40 minutes remaining in the session, George Russel set an impressive 1:16.599, snatching first position from Norris.
Incredibly pleased with the car feeling as he spoke over the radio, Gasly moved up to second position with a 1:16.907 on the C5 medium tyre. Overall, cars appeared to be struggling to keep the C6 tyre to last for the full lap distance.
Leclerc set a 1:17.769 following a snap out of the final corner, finding an underwhelming 17th position while his teammate Hamilton stood in 15th position. The Monegasque driver further complained about the helmet lift impeding his driving.
With seemingly effective upgrades to his Red Bull machinery, Max Verstappen took second position with a 1:16.905 as Carlos Sainz promptly dropped the Dutchman into third position as he set a 1:16.867.
A surprise appearance in the top 10
With 27 minutes left in the session, Bortoleto reached a surprising 5th position with a 1:16.925, followed by his teammate Hülkenberg, with a 1:16.998.
At the top of the timesheets, Piastri demoted Russel down to second position owing to a quick 1:16.545 lap. With 22 minutes left on the clock, Norris joined his teammate at the front, securing second position with a 1:16.577. Albon, after setting the fastest first sector of the session at that point, placed his Williams in eighth with a 1:16.922 lap – despite briefly brushing the gravel.
Gravel traps throughout the track
Several drivers struggled to find grip around Imola in the first practice session of the weekend, consequently running wide onto the gravel. Colapinto dipped his wheels into the gravel at the exit of the second chicane. Sliding around the Autodrome, Leclerc ran into the gravel a few more times. Albon also found the gravel as his teammate Sainz managed to reach 3rd position with a 1:16.597.
Looking uncomfortable with the rear of the RB-21, Verstappen slided out final corner in the last five minutes of the session.
Early end of the session as Bortoleto found the barrier
Bortoleto found the wall after oversteering on the way into the final corner, thus bringing out the red flag that concluded the session a few minutes earlier than expected.
The full standings and results for FP1 at the F1 Imola GP:
- Oscar Piastri 1:16.545
- Lando Norris +0.032
- Carlos Sainz +0.052
- George Russel +0.054
- Lewis Hamilton +0.096
- Pierre Gasly +0.151
- Max Verstappen + 0.360
- Alex Albon +0.377
- Gabriel Bortoleto +0.380
- Nico Hülkenberg +0.453
- Lance Stroll +0.487
- Charles Leclerc +0.532
- Kimi Antonelli +0.549
- Fernando Alonso +0.576
- Liam Lawson +0.741
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.811
- Franco Colapinto +0.828
- Ollie Bearman +0.901
- Isack Hadjar +1.096
- Esteban Ocon +1.117
