Practice 1 Report - Piastri leads tight Imola FP1

Oscar Piastri
© McLaren

Oscar Piastri led a close McLaren one-two in Free Practice 1 for Formula 1’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, as rookie Gabriel Bortoleto crashed late in the session at Imola.

The Australian topped the timesheets with a 1m16.562s, narrowly edging out team-mate Lando Norris by 0.032s in a session where just 0.151s separated the top six drivers. The field was tightly packed as teams brought major upgrade packages to the first European race of the 2025 season.

Held in sunny conditions at the historic Imola circuit—set to host its final Grand Prix for the foreseeable future—FP1 saw most teams use the hour to evaluate new components. McLaren continued its recent run of strong form, with Piastri and Norris quickly adapting to any changes and setting the pace early.

Charles Leclerc was third-fastest for Ferrari, followed by Mercedes driver George Russell. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a scruffy start to post the fifth-best time for Ferrari, despite expressing frustration over his brake performance after running straight on at the Variante Alta chicane.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly impressed in sixth, just 0.151s off the leader, as the team debuted a notable update package that appeared to work well from the outset.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished the session in seventh, three and a half tenths behind Piastri. Verstappen tested a revised rear suspension but was unhappy with the RB21’s balance, radioing that he “can’t rely on the rear” and was “drifting everywhere.”

Alex Albon was eighth for Williams, ahead of the Sauber pair Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg. Bortoleto’s encouraging start was marred by a crash in the final minutes. The Brazilian rookie lost control of his Sauber entering Rivazza, sliding into the gravel and making light contact with the barriers, prompting a red flag.

Notably, Sauber and Williams were the only teams that did not declare any updates for Imola. That, combined with their familiarity with their current setups, may have contributed to their quick start in the session.

With FP1 wrapped up, attention now turns to FP2 as teams look to refine their new parts and prepare for what’s expected to be a tightly contested qualifying session on Saturday.