FP1 summary : McLaren MCL39 lays down the law, Ferrari SF25 struggles through Imola’s corners

The FP1 session of the Imola GP has concluded, the first round of the championship to kick off the European season—let’s take a look at the summary and results.

After a one-week break, Formula 1 returns to one of the sport’s historic circuits, Imola. Built along the banks of the Santerno, this circuit hosts the seventh round of the 2025 championship and marks the start of the European leg of the F1 calendar. It’s a technical track where overtaking is almost impossible, so preparing well for qualifying is crucial. Let’s find out, through this summary, how FP1 went and what the results were from the first practice session of the Imola GP.

First half-hour
The first drivers to take to the track chose to try the C6 compound, the new addition for this weekend. A softer tyre, introduced to make races livelier on circuits where the asphalt is not particularly abrasive. The lap times at this stage aren’t too meaningful but showed how ready the teams were to hit the ground running.

Aston Martin started the Imola weekend on a positive note, with both cars in third and fourth after 15 minutes of running. The two Ferraris, aiming for a better result than in Miami, began the session in third and fourth/fifth position. McLaren continued to show its strength compared to the others, thanks to a car that performs well in both slow and fast sections. In fact, Norris, after 20 minutes, got within two-tenths of the fastest FP1 time from 2024. A few minutes later, Russell lowered the benchmark significantly, clocking a 1:16.599. Williams confirmed their strong form at the start of this season, with both drivers placing their FW47s in fourth and sixth on their third attempt.

Summary of the second half-hour of FP1 at Imola
Oscar Piastri kicked off the second part of FP1 by narrowly beating Russell’s time by just half a tenth. The standings were shaken up by some unexpected values, with the two Saubers surprisingly in sixth and seventh place. Mercedes began their first race simulations with the W16, as Russell completed several laps around the 1:21 mark using the C6 tyres—the softest available.

Despite Charles Leclerc’s difficulties, Hamilton managed to climb to fourth place, just a tenth off Oscar Piastri’s benchmark. Only 96 thousandths separated the two McLarens, George Russell’s Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari. This result came after all drivers had completed two runs on the C6 tyres.

Carlos Sainz was a surprise with just over 10 minutes to go, moving up to third and stopping the clock just 52 thousandths off Piastri’s best. The session was marked by incidents, traffic, and misunderstandings between drivers due to congestion. Several drivers complained about slow and dangerous cars on track. The session ended early because of a red flag caused by Bortoleto. The Brazilian went off at Rivazza 2 in his Sauber just two minutes before the end of the session.