Emilia Romagna GP Practice One Report

McLaren`s Oscar Piastri led the opening practice session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, closely followed by his teammate Lando Norris. The session saw many leading teams introducing significant car upgrade packages as the European leg of the season began at the historic Imola circuit.

Imola marks the first of three consecutive race weekends and was widely anticipated as the event where teams would unveil their initial major updates for the year.

McLaren set the early pace with Piastri and Norris, though the top five drivers, representing three different teams, were separated by less than a tenth of a second.

Piastri recorded the fastest lap time of 1:16.545, finishing just 0.032 seconds ahead of Norris.

Carlos Sainz of Williams, George Russell of Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari also posted times within a tenth of Piastri`s benchmark.

Earlier in the session, Hamilton reported issues with the brakes on his Ferrari and went off track at the Variante Alta chicane. His teammate Charles Leclerc, who had missed Thursday`s media activities due to illness, finished 12th.

Max Verstappen, the championship leader, was seventh fastest, over three-tenths behind Piastri. He was heard expressing frustration over the team radio about the rear end of his updated Red Bull car and was even seen hitting his steering wheel late in the session.

Red Bull`s updates for this weekend include a reprofiled engine cover and sidepods, featuring a design that has been compared to McLaren`s successful MCL39 concept, alongside revisions to the rear suspension and rear corners.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 that the track was evolving quickly and they didn`t get clean laps on their second set of tires.

Aston Martin`s Fernando Alonso almost collided with Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc during opening practice at Imola.

After a challenging week following the previous race in Miami, Alpine had a more stable start to the weekend on track, with Pierre Gasly securing the sixth fastest time.

Reserve driver Franco Colapinto, driving in place of Jack Doohan, finished 17th, 0.7 seconds behind his teammate, and will aim to close that gap as he builds confidence in the car.

Jacques Villeneuve and Jamie Chadwick discuss Alpine replacing Jack Doohan with their reserve driver Franco Colapinto.

The session was red-flagged with two minutes remaining after Sauber reserve driver Gabriel Bortoleto crashed into the barriers exiting the Rivazza corners towards the end of the lap.

Despite Bortoleto`s unfortunate end to the session, it was an otherwise encouraging start for Sauber, with Bortoleto ninth and Nico Hulkenberg tenth fastest.

Key Car Upgrades at Imola

Ted Kravitz outlines what upgrades the teams have made ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

For their first home race of the season, Ferrari introduced what Ted Kravitz described as “small but they hope significant” changes to the rear of their SF-25, including a different rear wing for increased downforce and revised rear corners.

Red Bull`s RB21 updates feature a McLaren-like engine cover and air inlet, along with rear suspension and rear corner revisions.

McLaren`s pace-setting car also received updates to its rear and a new front suspension.

Mercedes focused their updates on the front of their car, with changes to the suspension and front wing.

Aston Martin, struggling with performance, unveiled the most extensive update package. Stroll ran seven new items on his car, while Alonso compared performance using the older specification.

Only Williams, who are already focusing development on the 2026 regulations, and Sauber did not introduce any new parts at Imola.

Emilia Romagna GP Practice One Results

Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.