F1 | FP2 | Imola GP | McLaren continue Friday dominance - Motorsport

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After topping FP1 at the 2025 F1 Imola GP, McLaren took to the track for FP2 in fine form. Despite early competition from Williams Racing and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, however, the McLaren duo remained the dominant force on Friday. They claimed their second 1-2 of the day with Piastri leading Norris. Gasly, meanwhile, finish P3, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell in P4. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top five with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P6.

McLaren top 2025 Imola GP FP1 with Sainz in P3

Formula 1 returned to Europe for the seventh round of the 2025 season at Imola, where teams introduced significant upgrades. In FP1, Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets with a 1:16.545, narrowly ahead of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, as McLaren and Williams led the charge.

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Early in the session, most drivers opted for soft tyres, though some teams experimented with mediums. Fernando Alonso nearly collided with Charles Leclerc, who later apologised. Alonso initially set the fastest lap before Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda briefly took over. Franco Colapinto, replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine, impressed on medium tyres, placing 13th early on.

As the session progressed, George Russell set a strong 1:16.599. Pierre Gasly, on medium tyres, secured second briefly before Max Verstappen and Sainz improved. Leclerc struggled with gravel excursions and helmet lift, finishing 12th, while Lewis Hamilton managed fifth.

Gabriel Bortoleto delivered a surprise performance, placing ninth. Alex Albon also impressed, reaching eighth despite running wide. The new C6 tyre compound showed limited durability, and several drivers encountered grip issues, particularly through Rivazza and Variante Alta. Verstappen experienced a slide at the final corner late in the session.

The session ended prematurely when Bortoleto crashed into the barrier at the final corner, bringing out the red flag. The incident halted any further running, concluding a session marked by evolving track conditions and critical data gathering ahead of qualifying.

Ultimately, Piastri led from Norris, Sainz, and Russell. Notably, Alpine’s Colapinto and Williams’ Albon delivered solid performances, while Ferrari appeared unsettled despite running upgrades.

An early fight at the top between McLaren and Williams

The second practice session, FP2, of the 2025 Formula 1 Imola Grand Prix began at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, with teams eager to collect the data that could shape their Qualifying performance on Saturday. Mere seconds before the session went green, the Stewards issued a €1000 fine to Williams driver Carlos Sainz for speeding in the pit lane. At the same time, Ferrari remained under investigation for allegedly altering tyre pressures while the car was stationary in the garage, without following the prescribed procedure—a breach of Technical Directive 003Q 2.g.ii.

As the green light illuminated at the end of the pit lane, Haas were the first team to send their drivers out, with rookie Oliver Bearman leading teammate Esteban Ocon onto the track. They were followed by Pierre Gasly, Ocon’s former teammate at Alpine, and Franco Colapinto, who had returned to racing following a shake-up at the Enstone outfit.

Early laps on medium tyres

During the first five minutes, the field focused on exploratory laps. All drivers ran medium tyres, except for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who opted for softs. Just six minutes into the session, Lando Norris went fastest with a 1:16.074, taking P1 ahead of Max Verstappen’s 1:16.419 and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s 1:16.526—who had topped FP1. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, who had briefly held the fastest time early on, slotted into fourth with a 1:16.764. Shortly afterwards, Mercedes’ George Russell improved to second with a 1:16.366, sitting just under three-tenths off Norris at the top.

Within eight minutes of the session, a potentially contentious moment unfolded between Colapinto and Alonso. Race Control noted the impeding incident, although no further investigation was deemed necessary. Meanwhile, Sainz lit up the timing screens with a 1:15.992, becoming the first driver in FP2 to dip below the 1:16 barrier.

Ferrari off the pace

Ten minutes into the session, Charles Leclerc managed to push into P5 with a 1:16.296, dropping Gasly to sixth. Hamilton, having switched to mediums, found himself down in P11. Norris responded swiftly to Sainz’s time, reclaiming top spot with a 1:15.952. Local favourite Kimi Antonelli, racing for Mercedes, had a slow start to the session and sat in P12 with a 1:16.635—just under seven-tenths adrift of Norris.

Esteban Ocon occupied the bottom of the standings, noticeably off the pace of even his teammate Bearman in P14. Alonso, the only driver still running soft tyres at this point, was down in P19. Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, the latter recovering from a crash in FP1, sat in P17 and P18 respectively.

Less than 1.5 seconds separated all 20 drivers, with Gasly equalling Piastri’s lap time to move into P5, ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen, meanwhile, remained in P7 with a 1:16.306. Russell held P8 on a 1:16.366, and Yuki Tsunoda occupied P9 with a 1:16.418. Colapinto’s 1:16.478 allowed him to break into the top ten, pushing Hadjar down to P11.

Russell first to change onto the soft tyres

With just over 40 minutes remaining, George Russell became the first driver to bolt on a set of soft tyres. Taking advantage of a clear track, he set a 1:15.693 to go top of the timesheets. However, with conditions continuing to improve, his competitors posed a strong threat to his provisional P1.

Two minutes later, Verstappen joined the track on softs, along with Antonelli, Bearman, Lawson, and Hülkenberg. Verstappen improved to second with a 1:15.735. Norris then rejoined the circuit, and Tsunoda improved to P3, positioning himself directly behind his Red Bull teammate.

Leclerc improved to P3 shortly after, demoting Hadjar and Tsunoda down the order. Norris then laid down a marker with a 1:15.318 to take P1. Seconds later, Gasly moved up to P2 with a 1:15.569, but this was short-lived as Piastri went fastest with a 1:15.293.

Hamilton, now in P16, reported brake issues over the radio. Antonelli, down in P17, lost his lap time after running off-track. Verstappen, who sat in P5, complained about bottoming. Ocon, still struggling for pace, managed to climb to P16 before being demoted to P17 when Hülkenberg improved. Alonso, whose pace continued to be a concern, remained 20th with a 1:17.295—over two seconds off Piastri’s best time.

Ferrari struggling with brakes, as Gasly fights at the top

Seconds into the second half of the FP2 session of the 2025 F1 Imola GP, Leclerc echoed Hamilton’s earlier complaints regarding braking performance. While the fight at the top intensified between the two McLaren drivers, Williams appeared to lose ground. Albon sat ninth with a 1:15.916, and Sainz, who had briefly topped the times, found himself in P11.

Sainz did improve to P10 with a 1:15.934, pushing Hamilton—who had gone P10 with a 1:15.943—down a position. The seven-time world champion remained just 0.1 seconds ahead of Bearman in P12. Ocon, in contrast, continued to struggle in P19, unable to match either his teammate or his other midfield rivals.

Exploration of long-run performance

As the session entered its final third, most drivers returned to the pit lane to refuel and switch back to medium tyres for long-run simulations. This phase of FP2 of the 2025 F1 Imola GP served as critical preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix, with teams focusing on race pace and tyre degradation.

From that point, the timesheets saw little movement. The drivers completed their longer stints without focusing on headline times. In the final ten minutes, several drivers switched again to soft tyres for one last run, although Alonso remained on mediums after running softs earlier.

With just over seven minutes remaining in the session, Isack Hadjar ended up in the gravel trap. Though he managed to reach the edge, he remained stranded as traffic passed, unable to rejoin the circuit. This incident brought out the yellow flags, followed shortly thereafter by the red flag, halting the session. The session was resumed with just under a minute remaining, with Piastri holding on to the top position as the checkered flag waved.