Lando Norris has successfully maintained McLaren’s position at the top of the leaderboard during the third practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, held at Imola. Norris outperformed his teammate, Oscar Piastri, while Red Bull’s reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, secured third place.
During the practice session, the track conditions at Imola were challenging due to high temperatures, which led many teams to take their time before hitting the track. Lewis Hamilton initially set a fast pace but was quickly overtaken by Piastri and then Verstappen as the session progressed. Isack Hadjar from the Racing Bulls team also had a brief stint at the top as the grip on the track improved.
As the session reached the halfway mark, most teams had wrapped up their medium-tyre runs, with Verstappen establishing a leading time of 1:15.078. Subsequently, teams shifted their focus to qualifying simulations on soft tires, specifically utilizing Pirelli’s new C6 compound.
In a notable moment, Norris was the first and only driver to better Verstappen’s earlier time on medium tires with a stunning lap of 1:14.897, marking the first time of the weekend to dip below the 1:15 barrier. However, his next attempt at a flying lap was disrupted when he understeered at the Tamburello corner, forcing him to drive through the gravel.
Piastri also impressed, clocking a time of 1:14.997, a mere tenth of a second slower than Norris. Verstappen, after experiencing difficulties during his initial runs on soft tires, returned to the track in the final minutes of the session but could not improve his performance, finishing 0.181 seconds behind Norris.
In the Mercedes camp, rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli managed to secure fourth place, just over half a second off McLaren’s pace, while his teammate, George Russell, faced challenges with the ride quality of the Silver Arrow. Charles Leclerc from Ferrari finished fifth, and Carlos Sainz continued to showcase a promising form for Williams, placing sixth. Hadjar ultimately settled for seventh, followed by Russell, Alex Albon from Williams, and Hamilton, completing the top ten.
The practice session concluded without any major incidents, aside from a minor spin by Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson at Tamburello. Yuki Tsunoda finished the session in a relatively quiet 17th position, voicing concerns about experiencing “zero grip” in his Red Bull car, while series returnee Franco Colapinto ended up in 18th place driving for Alpine.
Qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which is anticipated to be the last race at the historic Italian venue for the foreseeable future, is scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM local time.
