FP1: Piastri sets the pace from Norris and Sainz during first practice in Imola

Oscar Piastri has topped the timesheets during the first practice hour ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the championship leader setting the pace ahead of McLaren team mate Lando Norris and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

Several cars started to peel out onto the track as the session got underway in dry and sunny conditions at 1330 local time, with a returning name amongst these as Franco Colapinto headed out in the Alpine, the Argentinian having been brought in to replace Jack Doohan for the next five races.

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While Colapinto had bolted on the medium C5 tyres for his initial runs, the majority of the field opted for the softs on a weekend that marks the debut appearance in 2025 of the C6 compound. Amongst those running the soft rubber was Charles Leclerc, the Monegasque back in action after missing Thursday’s media activities due to feeling unwell.

There was an early incident for Leclerc when the Ferrari driver found himself in the way of Fernando Alonso, leading to the Aston Martin man – who took victory at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari 20 years ago – reporting that he “nearly crashed” with the SF-25.

The drama wasn’t over there for Leclerc, who soon found himself dipping a wheel in the gravel at Turn 15 after a bit of a moment through Turn 14. Norris, meanwhile, had set the early pace during the first quarter of the session, the McLaren man leading the way on a 1m 17.125s.

As the track continued to evolve and the times quickly tumbled, George Russell had gone quickest by the halfway point with his effort of 1m 16.599s, the Mercedes driver heading the timesheets from Sainz and home favourite Kimi Antonelli.

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Meanwhile there was an unusual problem for Leclerc, who stated that “helmet lift is horrible” as he struggled with his lid, while team mate Lewis Hamilton looked to be fighting with the Ferrari, the Briton reporting that the car did not want to slow down.

With most of the field completing soft-shod runs as the session progressed, the McLaren pair of Piastri and Norris had moved themselves to the top of the order in a 1-2 formation ahead of Russell on an increasingly busy track.

Many looked to be pushing hard in the closing stages, with Alex Albon having some dramatic moments as his Williams bounced over the kerbs and took a brief trip through the gravel on a weekend where the squad will be hoping to continue their recent good run of form. There was also a slide for Max Verstappen, the Dutchman appearing frustrated at the wheel of the Red Bull.

More drama was to come in the dying minutes of FP1 as Gabriel Bortoleto crashed out of the session, the Kick Sauber driver running over the kerbs before hitting the barriers at Turn 18 to bring out the red flags.

The incident brought an early finish to everybody’s running, with Piastri remaining on top thanks to his effort of 1m 16.545s to go just 0.032s clear of Norris in second. Sainz and Russell were close behind in third and fourth respectively, the top four separated by less than six-hundredths of a second.

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Hamilton took fifth after a seemingly tricky session for Ferrari, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Verstappen, Albon, Bortoleto and the other Kick Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10.

Lance Stroll claimed P11 for Aston Martin, ahead of Leclerc, Antonelli, Alonso and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. Tsunoda, meanwhile, slotted into P16, with Colapinto in P17 while the Haas pair of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were 18th and 20th respectively, the duo separated by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.

The drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to examine their data and prepare for Friday’s second Free Practice session, which is due to get underway at 1700 local time.