McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris laid down a formidable marker on Friday at the Imola Grand Prix, sweeping both Free Practice sessions in a display that underlined the MCL39’s continued potency.
But despite the apparent dominance, both drivers were quick to strike a measured tone ahead of Saturday’s all-important Qualifying.
Piastri on “finding more” for Qualifying
Piastri, who leads the Drivers’ Championship by 16 points after three consecutive victories, edged team-mate Lando Norris in both sessions by the narrowest of margins.
The Australian was only 0.054s clear of George Russell in FP1 and just 0.035s ahead of his team-mate in FP2, where McLaren looked particuarly strong in qualifying trim.
“This wouldn’t be the first Friday where we’ve looked strong and then everyone has found a bit more going into Qualifying,” said Piastri, who nonetheless looked assured across both sessions. “I think we still want to find a bit more but everything has gone pretty smoothly. The car’s feeling decent, still a few more things to tweak but all in all, not bad.“
With overtaking notoriously tricky around Imola’s narrow, undulating layout, a front-row start could be decisive. And while McLaren’s one-lap pace appears a cut above, Piastri was wary of the usual Saturday surge from rivals.
“Saturday has been very important pretty much everywhere this year. I think, regardless of what the rest of this year has looked like, Imola is a place where Qualifying means a lot and that is going to be important but at the moment I don’t think it’s just Lando and I.
“I think there’s a few others that will join us in the fight tomorrow so we’ve got to keep our heads down and try and find a bit more.”
Norris says they “still have work to do”
The sentiment was echoed by Norris, who had topped the early phase of both sessions before being narrowly shaded by his team-mate. McLaren, dominant last time out in Miami with a 1-2 finish led by Piastri, once again appear to be the benchmark, but the Briton remains cautious.
“We always look much better than everyone then we get to Qualifying and they catch up so I don’t think we’re in a comfortable place,” Norris said. “We still have work to do. Alpine were quick, they’ve always been quick here and I’m sure Red Bull will catch and Mercedes will be on it just when they turn their engines up.”
Indeed, the resurgence of Alpine has added another unexpected twist. Pierre Gasly impressed with a P3 finish in FP2, splitting the McLarens and Mercedes on the timesheets. The midfield remains tightly bunched, with six teams occupying the top seven places by the end of the day. It is evidence that while McLaren are ahead, the margins are slim.
What is in for tomorrow at the Imola GP?
FP1 offered the first taste of McLaren’s pace advantage, with Piastri striking late to top the session after a flurry of upgrades debuted across the paddock. Norris had initially led, but a clean lap from the Australian on fresh softs saw him pip Russell to the top by just over half a tenth.
FP2, by contrast, saw McLaren stretch clear. Both drivers improved their pace significantly on the soft compound, pulling nearly three tenths clear of the rest of the field. The session was briefly halted by a red flag after Isack Hadjar beached his car, but by then the McLaren pair had already established their dominance.
With Ferrari still struggling to extract performance amid braking issues and Red Bull appearing unsettled on the softer compounds, McLaren enter Saturday with momentum, but not complacency.
As Piastri and Norris have repeatedly emphasised, Imola rewards perfection. On a weekend where Qualifying could well dictate the race outcome, the job is far from done.
