McLaren looking ominous as Ferrari face 'critical' call

McLaren hinted at potential dominance of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend after Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris locked out the top two positions in both practice sessions.

At the end of the two hour-long runs at the 'old-school' Imola circuit, there was little to separate the duo, although it was the title-leading Australian who held sway on each occasion.

• FP1: Piastri ahead of Norris by 0.032s.
• FP2: Piastri ahead of Norris by 0.025s.

Their nearest rival, Pierre Gasly (Alpine), was a quarter of a second adrift. The field was remarkably close from 3rd to 13th, with only half a second covering 11 drivers.

Ferrari struggles at home

Home heroes Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) struggled. Leclerc was 6th in FP2 (+0.475s), and Hamilton 11th (+0.650s).

Leclerc radioed concerns about critical corner entries, suggesting the car struggles on this low-downforce circuit.

Despite the struggles, Ferrari faces a 'critical' call regarding setup to improve performance for qualifying and the race.

Other notable points

• Red Flags: Both FP1 (Gabriel Bortoleto, Stake) and FP2 (Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls) sessions ended with red flags after crashes.
• Mercedes: George Russell was 4th, while Kimi Antonelli was a distant 18th. Mercedes debuted a new front wing.
• Red Bull: Max Verstappen was 5th, half a second behind Piastri, and complained about a nut in his cockpit.
• Alpine: Franco Colapinto returned to F1 for a five-race deal, finishing 13th in FP2.

Whilst only Friday practice, McLaren's pace looks ominous for the rest of the weekend.