Oscar Piastri narrowly edged out teammate Lando Norris in the second practice session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, capping off a strong Friday for McLaren.
Piastri, currently ahead of Norris in the championship standings, was just 0.025 seconds faster than his teammate. Alpine`s Pierre Gasly was a surprising third.
George Russell of Mercedes finished fourth, about four tenths behind, just ahead of Red Bull`s Max Verstappen in fifth and Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc in sixth.
Both Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton (who was 11th) reported brake issues. Ferrari mechanics even dismantled Hamilton`s brakes mid-session to address the problem.
Like other top teams, Ferrari brought upgrades to their home race, including changes intended to improve rear instability. However, Hamilton`s significant time deficit (0.650s) to Piastri suggests these upgrades may not have delivered the hoped-for progress.
Elsewhere on track, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar spun at the fast first chicane and got stuck in the gravel after lightly hitting a barrier while trying to rejoin.
Despite the spin, Hadjar finished seventh, followed by Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) in eighth, Alex Albon (Williams) in ninth, and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) in tenth.
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli struggled to put a clean lap together and finished 18th in his first home race appearance.
Franco Colapinto was 13th on his first Friday with Alpine, beginning his five-race stint filling in for Jack Doohan.
Piastri and Norris Set the Pace
While Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari arrived in Imola hoping their upgrades would close the gap to McLaren, Friday`s practice sessions hinted at a potential battle for pole position solely between Piastri and Norris.
Although rival teams typically find more pace by qualifying, McLaren`s own updates appear effective, and both their drivers felt they could have gone even faster.
On his fastest lap, Piastri was slightly hindered by dirty air from a car ahead at the final corner. Norris was on pace for a faster lap on his second attempt but had a significant slide, also at Turn 18.
Speaking after the session, Piastri commented, “This wouldn`t be the first Friday where we look strong and everyone finds a bit more going into qualifying. We still want to find a bit more but everything has gone pretty smoothly. The car is feeling decent. Still a few more things to tweak but all in all, not bad. Saturdays have been important pretty much everywhere. Imola is a place where qualifying means a lot but, at the moment, I don`t think it`s just Lando and I. I think there are a few others that will join us in the fight, so we have to keep our heads down and try and find a bit more.”
Norris mentioned he felt he made a `step forward` in Miami and described understanding the car as a `longer project`, but was `pretty happy` with his Friday. He added, “I`m sure he [Piastri] is going to find things too. FP2 we always look good, we always look better than everyone and then we get to qualifying and they catch up. I don`t think we are in a comfortable place, we still have work to do. Alpine were quick, they have always been quick here. I`m sure Red Bull will catch up and Mercedes will be on it just when they turn their engines up. So nothing to be comfortable with. But I think a productive Friday.”
Verstappen “Not Fast Enough”, Gasly Hits Rabbit
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was dissatisfied with the handling of his car, particularly the rear, despite Red Bull making significant changes throughout the day. He finished nearly half a second behind McLaren.
“We tried a lot of bits. Some worked better than others but overall, not fast enough at the moment,” he stated. “We need more work to get a better corner balance to go faster. It`s the same in the long runs. I mean I got overtaken by the McLarens, which says enough, right? They pulled away. Even then, compared to other teams around us, it was a bit tough.”
Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly described his Friday as “the best Friday so far,” finishing sixth in FP1 and third in FP2. However, the Alpine driver also reported an unusual incident: he hit a rabbit during the first session.
Gasly explained, “Very sadly there was a big rabbit jumping across the track and I could not avoid it, so I had a big impact on the front wing. Unfortunately, that was it for the rabbit and I broke the front wing. It is quite unfortunate because we always try to look after our parts, so when such things happen it`s not great.”
Emilia Romagna GP Practice 2 Timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:15.293 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.025 |
| 3) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.276 |
| 4) George Russell | Mercedes | +0.400 |
| 5) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.442 |
| 6) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.475 |
| 7) Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +0.499 |
| 8) Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +0.534 |
| 9) Alex Albon | Williams | +0.623 |
| 10) Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.641 |
| 11) Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.650 |
| 12) Oliver Bearman | Haas | +0.716 |
| 13) Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +0.751 |
| 14) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.927 |
| 15) Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +0.962 |
| 16) Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | +1.046 |
| 17) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.048 |
| 18) Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +1.113 |
| 19) Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1.126 |
| 20) Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.127 |
Emilia Romagna GP Weekend Schedule
Saturday May 17:
9am: F3 Sprint
11:15am: Emilia Romagna GP Practice Three
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.10pm: Emilia Romagna GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: EMILIA ROMAGNA GP QUALIFYING
5pm: Ted`s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday May 18:
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Emilia Romagna GP build-up
2pm: The EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Emilia Romagna GP reaction
5pm: Ted`s Notebook
Gilbert Pendleton