McLarens again on top in second practice with Gasly third

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ended Friday at Formula 1’s Imola Grand Prix fastest as McLaren retained its early 2025 advantage, heading a red-flagged FP2 session after Isack Hadjar’s off.

Piastri had already led the way in FP1 earlier in the afternoon and further underlined McLaren’s ominous form by pipping team-mate Norris by a mere 0.025 seconds in FP2 as the pair comfortably stayed ahead of the competition.

At the start of the second one-hour session Norris immediately took charge with a 1m16.074s set on mediums, which was bested by Carlos Sainz in the Williams running on the same compound.

The first qualifying runs on Pirelli’s softest C6 tyre followed after some 20 minutes, with George Russell the first driver to dip below 2024’s pole time with a 1m15.693s in the Mercedes.

Piastri took a huge chunk out of that time with a 1m15.293s, 0.025s ahead of team-mate Norris. Norris had another go at taking over first place but, despite going quickest in sector two, the Briton didn’t improve on his previous lap time.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was a surprise third, confirming the solid start the team made in first practice, with Mercedes man Russell fourth.

World champion Max Verstappen completed a more encouraging session after a scrappy FP1 hampered by balance problems on the Red Bull RB21, but the Dutchman still came four tenths short of challenging the McLarens.

Charles Leclerc was sixth for Ferrari, despite urging his team to address its shortcomings in the Villeneuve, Piratella and Acque Minerale corners.

Hadjar was seventh for Racing Bulls despite a late off in Turn 1’s Tamburello. With eight minutes to go Hadjar got loose on the exit, which sent him spinning into the gravel trap. The Frenchman was eventually unable to rejoin as his Racing Bulls car ended up beached, bringing out a brief red flag.

The session was resumed for two more minutes, which allowed teams to conduct the customary practice starts.

Yuki Tsunoda was eighth after a solid afternoon, just one tenth behind his illustrious team-mate, with Williams duo Sainz and Alex Albon rounding out the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton was a muted 11th for Ferrari after struggling with the brakes, slipping up in the Variante Alta chicane as he did in FP1.

On his F1 return with Alpine, Argentina’s Franco Colapinto finished Friday in 13th place following a clean first day back behind the wheel.

FP2 result: