Emilia Romagna GP Practice 2: Piastri Fastest, Hamilton & Leclerc Brake Issues

McLaren had a strong showing on Friday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri topping the timesheets in the second practice session, narrowly beating teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri, who currently holds a 16-point lead over Norris in the championship standings, finished just 0.025 seconds ahead of his McLaren counterpart. Alpine`s Pierre Gasly posted a surprisingly strong lap to secure third place.

Mercedes driver George Russell was four tenths off the leading pace in fourth, followed closely by Red Bull`s Max Verstappen and Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc in sixth.

Both Leclerc and his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton (who ended up 11th) reported encountering brake issues during the session. Ferrari mechanics even worked on dismantling Hamilton`s brakes mid-session in an attempt to resolve the problem.

Ferrari, like other leading teams, brought upgrade packages to their home event at Imola. These included rear modifications aimed at improving stability. However, Hamilton`s significant time deficit of 0.650 seconds to Piastri suggests the Scuderia may not have made the desired gains yet.

Elsewhere on track, Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar spun at the high-speed first chicane. He nudged the barrier and then became stuck in the gravel trap while trying to rejoin, causing the session`s only red flag.

Despite the incident, Hadjar managed to finish seventh fastest, just ahead of Red Bull`s Yuki Tsunoda in eighth. The Williams pair of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz completed the top ten.

Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli, competing in his first home race, struggled to put together a clean lap and finished the day in 18th position. Franco Colapinto, driving for Alpine in his first of five scheduled Friday sessions subbing for Jack Doohan, was 13th.

Could Imola See a Piastri vs Norris Battle?

While Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari hoped their upgrades would bring them closer to McLaren, Friday`s practice suggested that the battle for pole position might be primarily between Piastri and Norris when qualifying takes place.

Teams typically find more performance before qualifying, but McLaren`s recent updates appear to be working well. Both McLaren drivers felt they could have gone even faster.

Piastri`s fastest lap was slightly compromised by dirty air from a car ahead at the final corner, while Norris experienced a significant slide at Turn 18 on what was set to be his quickest lap.

“This wouldn`t be the first Friday where we look strong and everyone finds a bit more going into qualifying,” Piastri commented. “We still want to find a bit more, but everything has gone pretty smoothly. The car is feeling decent. Still a few more things to tweak, but all in all, not bad.”

“Saturdays have been important pretty much everywhere. Imola is a place where qualifying means a lot, but at the moment, I don`t think it`s just Lando and I,” he added. “I think there are a few others that will join us in the fight, so we have to keep our heads down and try and find a bit more.”

Norris mentioned feeling he made a “step forward” in Miami compared to earlier in the season and that understanding the car is a “longer project.” He expressed satisfaction with his Friday performance.

“I`m sure he [Piastri] is going to find things too,” Norris said. “FP2 we always look good, we always look better than everyone and then we get to qualifying and they catch up. I don`t think we are in a comfortable place, we still have work to do. Alpine were quick, they have always been quick here. I`m sure Red Bull will catch up and Mercedes will be on it just when they turn their engines up. So nothing to be comfortable with. But I think a productive Friday.”

Verstappen Unhappy, Gasly Hits Rabbit

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen voiced dissatisfaction with the rear of his Red Bull car, despite the team making significant changes throughout the day. He finished nearly half a second behind the McLarens.

“We tried a lot of bits. Some worked better than others but overall, not fast enough at the moment,” he stated. “We need more work to get a better corner balance to go faster. It`s the same in the long runs. I mean I got overtaken by the McLarens, which says enough, right? They pulled away. Even then, compared to other teams around us, it was a bit tough.”

Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly had a positive Friday, finishing sixth in the first practice and third in the second. However, the Alpine driver shared an unusual incident from FP1.

“Very sadly there was a big rabbit jumping across the track and I could not avoid it, so I had a big impact on the front wing,” Gasly revealed. “Unfortunately, that was it for the rabbit and I broke the front wing. It is quite unfortunate because we always try to look after our parts, so when such things happen it`s not great.”