Imola F1 data: McLaren dominates medium-speed corners, Ferrari identifies areas for progress

After the trips outside the Old Continent, Formula 1 has therefore returned to Europe, but the first indications tell a now almost memorized script: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the lead, drawing up a leaderboard constantly colored papaya.

So, the same results from Miami are repeated. An initial outcome that is not surprising, because even in Imola what emerged is the overall strength of the Woking car: its versatility, the ability to be competitive in every sector of the track, without having to rely on a single element to make the difference.

From this stems the four-tenths gap imposed on the other top teams, who, barring overnight miracles (especially Red Bull, which wouldn’t be new to such feats), have already begun the hunt for the role of second force, with Alpine staking its claim as the fourth challenger sitting at the big table. The A525 has made straight-line speed its strong point, an aspect already observed elsewhere, but it also defends itself well in medium-to-high-speed corners.

This characteristic of the Enstone car is not new: already in other contexts it had shown a good front end in faster corners, though it suffers from a certain inconsistency in qualifying. On a track considered favorable on paper, the ability to extract the final tenth remains a question mark, but Alpine’s ambition is to be the surprise of the weekend, trying to join the fight among the top teams.

A battle for the second-best team spot behind McLaren that promises to be extremely interesting, with the other three top teams today separated by only 75 thousandths and, drawing a line, seeing their gap from the MCL39 widen almost in the same places. Compared to Miami, Imola does not demand such marked compromises, and this also benefits McLaren.

Two weeks ago the strength of the papaya car emerged mainly in the slow sections, but on the first Friday at Imola its superiority showed in the medium-to-high-speed corners, displaying great front-end precision. Moreover, on a bumpy track surface, where the car must be raised to avoid bottoming—experienced by several drivers—McLaren’s downforce makes the difference.

In medium-to-high-speed corners, the MCL39 is fast and, above all, stable, easy to drive and precise on entry, yet able to bring the rear along without excessive sliding, which can make a difference not only in lap time but also in tire management, both on a single lap and over long runs.

At Imola, the C6 made its debut—the softest compound in the range—which, while allowing for two attempts if properly cooled, still requires careful management on a single lap to avoid burning it up in the first two sectors. McLaren is the team best able to manage this aspect, even though it is not immune.

Lando Norris had to abort his final attempt due to oversteer in the last corner, after trying to improve in the first two sectors. The two McLaren drivers took slightly different approaches: Oscar Piastri stood out in the first two sectors but struggled in the final part, while Lando Norris, in his first flying lap, excelled precisely in sector three. A further confirmation of the compromises demanded by the C6, which McLaren nonetheless seems to manage better than other teams.

Data analysis clearly shows McLaren’s superiority in medium-to-high-speed sections: for example, a 7 kilometers per hour advantage in the first chicane over Ferrari and Red Bull, a sign of how well McLaren carries speed into and through corners. Charles Leclerc specifically worked on this in FP2, adjusting his braking phase to optimize corner entry.

Mercedes was much further back, sacrificing entry to favor exit toward the Villeneuve. Here again McLaren’s strength stands out—effective both in entry and traction, with better acceleration out of Turn 5. The same theme repeats at Villeneuve, where the advantage remains 5 kilometers per hour over Mercedes and 7 over Ferrari.

This is one of three corners—along with Piratella and Acque Minerali—identified by Charles Leclerc as key areas to improve corner entry to take a step forward for qualifying. In fact, the data shows the lack of incisiveness the Monegasque driver referred to: at Piratella, for example, the SF-25 was the slowest among the top teams, 12 kilometers per hour down on the McLaren.

But will that be enough to make real progress? Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari has the potential for the third or second row, and Frederic Vasseur also emphasized the importance of qualifying, especially on a track where grid position carries significant weight.

Curiously, regarding Ferrari, at Tosa, the slowest section along with the Variante Alta, the performance deficit was not as large as expected, confirming that perhaps the Italian side opted for a compromise setup to avoid sacrificing the medium-slow sections too much, which is reflected in the lack of incisiveness in the medium-to-high-speed corners.

McLaren’s strength lies precisely in combining these elements, both on single laps and over race distance, where the practice references were heavily influenced by traffic, although the two papayas still appear to have something extra. Both George Russell and Max Verstappen were overtaken by the two McLarens in race simulations, even though the Dutchman had gone out on track earlier. Nonetheless, McLaren starts as the heavy favorite and, barring overnight miracles, has already staked its claim to seal the weekend.