Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: Piastri tops turbulent final practice as crashes disrupt session
In an action-packed final practice session for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, McLaren's Oscar Piastri claimed the fastest time amidst interruptions caused by crashes involving Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez. The session, which had two red flags, saw Piastri clocking a leading time of 1m 15.529s, three-tenths ahead of teammate Lando Norris.
The session began under warm and bright conditions, with a moderate wind providing less of a challenge compared to earlier in the weekend. Lando Norris was amongst the first to hit the track, closely followed by several other drivers including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, who aimed to address balance issues in their RB20 after overnight adjustments.
Ferrari looked to gain an early edge with Leclerc initially topping the timesheets, setting a pace of 1m 16.281s on soft tires.
The calm of the session was first disrupted when Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso lost control through Rivazza and crashed into the barriers. Although Alonso was unharmed, his car was less fortunate, causing the session to be red-flagged to clear the debris. The action resumed shortly after, with a queue of cars ready to take advantage of the remaining time.
As drivers scrambled to set their final times, Sergio Perez brought out the second red flag after hitting the wall at Turn 15. Despite the crash, Perez was unscathed and the car was swiftly removed, allowing the session to resume with only two minutes left on the clock.
The final dash saw some drivers miss the opportunity to set a last lap, but Piastri capitalized to finish on top. Close behind were:
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1m 15.529s
Lando Norris (McLaren) - +0.300s
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
George Russell led the Mercedes charge in fifth, followed by Verstappen in sixth. Alex Albon had an impressive outing for Williams in seventh. The top ten was rounded off by Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).
Read next ❯ Ferrari to reveal Hamilton's debut F1 car on February 19 at MaranelloLower down the order, Daniel Ricciardo was 11th, while Perez ended up 12th due to his late crash. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) took 13th, with Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) in 14th and Logan Sargeant (Williams) in 15th.
Rounding out the field were Kevin Magnussen (Haas) in 16th, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in 17th, Alonso in 18th following his incident, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) in 19th, and Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) in 20th.
As teams prepare for the qualifying session, McLaren's strong performance in practice could signal a surprising shift in competitiveness. Ferrari and Red Bull will be looking to bounce back and resolve their issues to challenge Piastri's pace.
Stay tuned for an exciting qualifying session ahead at Imola.
