Oscar Piastri pipped Lando Norris in second practice to complete a perfect Friday for McLaren at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Piastri, who leads Norris by 16 points in the Drivers’ Championship, was just 0.025s quicker than his McLaren team-mate with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in a surprise third.
Mercedes’ George Russell was four tenths off the pace in fourth, just ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in sixth.
Leclerc and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was 11th, both bemoaned brake issues to the point that Ferrari took Hamilton’s brakes apart halfway through the session to resolve the issue.
Like the other front-running teams, Ferrari brought upgrades to their home event in Imola, including changes to the rear to help instability, but Hamilton’s 0.650s deficit to pace-setter Piastri suggests they have not made any progress.
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Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar caused the only red flag in second practice on Friday in Imola
Elsewhere, Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar spun at the high-speed first chicane and beached his car when trying to re-join the track after nudging the barrier.
Hadjar still finished seventh from Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in eighth ahead of Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli was unable to put together a clean flying lap and finished the day in 18th in his first race on home soil.
Franco Colapinto was 13th at the end of his first Friday for Alpine as he starts his five-race deal in place of Jack Doohan.
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Ted Kravitz outlines what upgrades the teams have made at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Piastri vs Norris in Imola?
Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari hoped their upgrades would put them closer to McLaren but Friday’s practice sessions suggested it will be a Piastri and Norris battle for pole when qualifying takes place on Saturday at 3pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
The other teams tend to catch up when it matters most but McLaren’s own updates on the car are working well and both of their drivers left time on the table.
On Piastri’s fastest lap, he was hampered by dirty air from a car ahead of him at the last corner and Norris was set to go quickest on his second push lap until he suffered a big slide, also at Turn 18.
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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is determined to ignore the allegations made against their car, with the FIA having cleared the team of any wrongdoing
“This wouldn’t be the first Friday where we look strong and everyone finds a bit more going into qualifying,” said Piastri.
“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.”
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Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, Martin Brundle debates whether Max Verstappen races Oscar Piastri differently to Lando Norris
Norris revealed he made a “step forward” last time out in Miami after struggling with the car earlier in the season compared to last year.
The British driver says his understanding of the car is a “longer project” but was “pretty happy” with his Friday.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
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Harry Benjamin and Anthony Davidson were at the SkyPad to look back on Friday’s practice sessions at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Verstappen says Red Bull ‘not fast enough’ as Gasly reveals he hit a rabbit
Reigning F1 world champion Verstappen was unhappy with the rear of his car in first practice as Red Bull made significant changes throughout the day but still ended up 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 said.
“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.”
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Despite Red Bull’s new upgrades this weekend, Max Verstappen appeared less confident about their chances after a tough practice session at the Emilia Romagna GP
Meanwhile, Gasly had “the best Friday so far” by finishing sixth in first practice and third in second practice. However, the Alpine driver revealed he hit a rabbit in the first session.
“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,” said Gasly.
“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.”
Sky Sports F1’s Emilia Romagna GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Saturday May 17
9am: F3 Sprint
11:15am: Emilia Romagna GP Practice Three (session starts at 11.30am)
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
*Also live on Sky Sports Main Event
F1’s European season begins with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
