McLaren Flying Early At Imola

The first day of track action for the Emilia-Romagna e del Made in Italy Grand Prix saw McLaren shine once again. In both free practice sessions, Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris at the top of the time sheets. The championship leader stopped the clocks in 1’16”545 in FP1 and then went over a second quicker to record a 1’15”293 in FP2. The gap between the Australian and his team-mate was a mere 32 thousandths in the first session and 25 in the second.

The C6, the softest compound in the 2025 range made its official debut today in Imola. During the two hours of practice the Hard was not used, not even for the scrubbing-in lap that some teams are prone to do. It indicates that the C4 will play a pivotal role in Sunday’s race. The Soft and Medium tyres were used in exactly equal measure, with each completing a total of 2,307.230 kilometres, over 470 laps.

Oscar Piastri – P1 in FP1 and FP2

“A decent day. I think there are a few bits to tidy up overnight, but that’s usual. It’s close at the front, so we’ve got a bit more to find. I’m looking forward to Qualifying tomorrow.”

Lando Norris – P2 in FP1 and FP2

“A good day to get started in Imola. It’s a difficult track but a fun and fast one to drive, so overall a nice Friday. We’ve identified a few things to work on overnight as a team in preparation for getting back out on track tomorrow – I’m looking forward to it.”

Simone Berra – Pirelli Chief Engineer

“There was a great deal of interest in the C6’s debut, from us as much as from the teams and drivers. After all, the Soft for this Grand Prix has never been run on these cars and the last time it was used on track dates back to the end-of-year test session held at Abu Dhabi back in December.

“At first glance, the impression is positive. The C6 proved to be an excellent qualifying tyre, allowing the drivers to push for the whole lap, without experiencing a drop in performance in the final sector. Furthermore, with careful management of the cooling phase, it proved capable of delivering at least one more competitive flying lap. In FP1, we even saw it complete a string of laps without any graining appearing.

“In FP2 all teams did long runs on the Medium which displayed relatively low degradation thanks to a strong level of pace management. Given that the track will still rubber-in more and that temperatures on Sunday should not be excessively high, combined with the layout of this track having the longest pit lane on the calendar, it’s likely the teams will go for a one-stop strategy. It’s no coincidence that no one used the Hard compound today, clearly preferring to keep the C4 for Sunday, also to be prepared for a Safety Car period, which is a frequent occurrence at Imola. On paper, a two-stop cannot be ruled out, far from it, but we are well aware that the teams and drivers are skilled at tyre management and with time lost in pit lane amounting to a long 27 seconds, that becomes a very important factor.”

FORMULA 2

Dino Beganovic (Hitech TGR) is the pole man of the Imola round. The Ferrari Driver Academy’s Swede took the number one slot in the most closely contested qualifying ever seen in the category, given that the top three were covered by just six thousandths of a second. Beganovic posted a 1’27”419, with Colombia’s Sebastian Montoya (PREMA Racing) three thousandths slower and France’s Victor Martins (ART Grand Prix) at six thousandths.

For the first European round of the FIA Formula 2 championship at Imola’s Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit, the available compounds are the Soft and Supersoft. Compared to 2024, the hardest compound on offer is a step softer and will therefore be subject to greater degradation. Last year, 16 of the 22 drivers went down this route, but they were out of luck because, surprisingly, there was no call for the Safety Car to leave pit lane.

Tyre management will be extremely difficult, especially with the Supersoft, even though its performance life will last one or two laps longer compared to its 2024 version.

FORMULA 3

Rafael Camara (Trident) will start Sunday’s race from pole. The Brazilian set a best time in qualifying of 1’32”206, beating Mexico’s Santiago Ramos (Van Amersfoort Racing) by 236 thousandths and Denmark’s Noah Stromsted, also with Trident by 244 thousandths.

As was the case last year, the compound chosen for Imola is the Medium. The 2025 cars seem to help the drivers manage thermal degradation. This characteristic could assist them in dealing with graining, which in the 2024 Feature Race began to make itself felt on the tyres before half-distance. In fact, that aside, the top three finishers all proved adept at managing tyre performance.

In general, degradation, although high, will be consistent. In the 2024 Sprint Race, there were no fewer than 6 neutralisations, which is to be expected at a track like Imola. The track is a good training ground for young drivers who have to deal with a complex mix of corners and braking points at what is a very technical circuit with very few overtaking opportunities.