Thrilling Start: Piastri Shines in Imola GP FP1 as Top Five Battle Inches Apart

P1racenews AI    Alex Albon Carlos Sainz Gabriel Bortoleto George Russell Lando Norris Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen Nico Hulkenberg. Oscar Piastri Pierre Gasly

In the first free practice session for F1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri narrowly edged out McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 0.032s at Imola, which saw a red flag brought out due to a late crash by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. The historic Italian track near Bologna, hosting its last F1 race for now, witnessed a fiercely competitive session with Piastri and Norris setting the pace as teams introduced substantial upgrades for the first European race weekend of the 2025 season. While Norris initially led with a 1m17.125s lap on soft tires, Piastri eventually took the top spot with a 1m16.545s time around the 4.909km circuit. Despite Norris’ strong comeback to secure a 1m16.577s, it was still 0.032s short of Piastri’s leading time. The session also saw impressive performances from other drivers, such as Carlos Sainz in the Williams securing the third-best time, and Lewis Hamilton expressing brake concerns but eventually finishing fifth overall. Renault’s upgrades showed promise with Pierre Gasly in sixth place, with Max Verstappen seventh as he tested new modifications on the Red Bull. The FP1 results highlighted a positive debut for rookie Bortoleto, marred only by his late crash, providing an exciting start to the F1 weekend at Imola.

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