As expected, McLaren is the favorite, but Ferrari showed a strong long run.
Formula 1 returns to our country, at Imola, for what could be the final edition of the Made in Italy Grand Prix, the first round of the European calendar. In today’s free practice sessions, the fastest was once again Oscar Piastri, just a few thousandths ahead of his teammate Lando Norris. The others seem to be further behind, at least over a single lap, with Pierre Gasly, third in FP2, trailing by almost three tenths.
For the first European weekend of the 2025 season, Pirelli has chosen a new tyre compound combination, featuring the C4 (Hard), C5 (Medium), and C6 (Soft), which will make their debut on Formula 1 cars. In the 2024 edition, most drivers opted for a one-stop strategy with a Medium-Hard sequence, although this year the softer compounds could bring more uncertainty regarding tyre degradation.
In fact, speaking to Sky Sport F1, Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport director, stated that, based on the studies carried out before the weekend, the fastest strategy appears to be a two-stop, with a Medium-Hard-Medium sequence. However, the long pit lane at Imola will have to be taken into account, as it will cost drivers around 28 seconds.
The circuit, built near the Santerno River, features only one DRS zone along the main straight, meaning overtaking opportunities will be very limited, making tomorrow’s qualifying session all the more important.
Additionally, like all “old-school” tracks, there is no asphalt beyond the curbs, but gravel instead. This increases the likelihood of a Safety Car intervention during the race in case of off-track excursions.
Confirming this, today’s sessions highlighted this possibility, with four red flags being shown: one in FP1 due to Gabriel Bortoleto’s crash at Rivazza, one in Formula 3 qualifying following Inthraphuvasak’s off-track excursion, one in Formula 2 qualifying caused by Kush Maini’s accident exiting the Tamburello chicane, and one in this afternoon’s FP2 when Isack Hadjar went off at Tamburello.
FP2 Imola race pace analysis: this afternoon’s lap times
In the last 25 minutes of the session, all teams focused on race pace simulation in preparation for Sunday. All drivers went out on medium tyres, except for Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, who opted for the hardest compound available.
The only drivers consistently lapping under the 1:20 mark were Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris: after their dominant weekend in Miami, the two McLarens arrive as favorites for this first European round, while everyone waits to see what will happen following the front wing regulation changes scheduled for Barcelona.
Charles Leclerc’s race simulation was also strong: after a difficult start to the weekend, the Monégasque driver put in a good long run during the final minutes of FP2, setting a best lap of 1:19.656—on par with the two McLarens.
The longest race simulation was carried out by the two Mercedes drivers. In particular, George Russell’s long run was affected by traffic, especially from Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, which forced him to lap in the 1:22 and 1:23 range. Andrea Kimi Antonelli also delivered an excellent race simulation following his strong weekend in Miami: despite not completing his qualifying simulation, the Bolognese driver put in a solid long run, consistently lapping in the low 1:20s.
Finally, Racing Bulls’ race simulation by Isack Hadjar is definitely interesting. As mentioned, he was the only driver to go out on Hard tyres, and the French driver matched the lap times of those on Medium tyres before ending his long run in the gravel at the Tamburello chicane.
PHOTO: McLaren F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari HP, GPKingdom.
