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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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
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.
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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.
1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told Sky Sports F1: “Piastri is definitely handling this car well. He’s reacting well to pressure. Has he stepped up this year or Lando stepped down? It’s so tight.”
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
