McLaren’s relentless form continued in the second free practice session for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris securing another commanding one-two at Imola.
Piastri’s 1m15.293s lap edged Norris by a mere 0.025 seconds, underlining the MCL39’s superiority on Pirelli’s softest C6 compound.
A late crash by Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar triggered a red flag, briefly disrupting the session, but McLaren’s pace remained unchallenged, cementing Team Papaya’s ominous early pace at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
Fresh off topping FP1, Piastri delivered a blistering pace that surpassed last year’s pole time. Norris initially led with a 1m16.074s on mediums, only for Williams’ Carlos Sainz to briefly take the top spot on the same compound.
However, once teams switched to softs, McLaren’s dominance was clear. George Russell’s Mercedes set an early benchmark of 1m15.693s, but Piastri’s lap confirmed McLaren’s edge, with Norris unable to improve on his final attempt.
The pair’s performance, bolstered by upgrades like a revised rear corner and high-downforce wing, left rivals trailing by over a quarter of a second.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly shone in third, 0.276s off Piastri, reinforcing the team’s promising FP1 pace with their reprofiled front wing and bodywork.
Russell held fourth for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen, despite a better balance in the upgraded RB21, settled for fifth, 0.442s adrift.
Verstappen’s earlier gripes about the car’s rear stability eased, but he couldn’t challenge McLaren.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, sixth, urged fixes for the SF-25’s handling in Villeneuve, Piratella, and Acque Minerali corners, while Lewis Hamilton, struggling with brake feel, languished in 11th after another Variante Alta error
With eight minutes remaining, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar, running seventh, lost control exiting Tamburello, spinning into the gravel and beaching his car.
The incident prompted a red flag, halting the session. Hadjar’s promising pace was overshadowed by the crash, though he escaped unscathed.
The session resumed for a brief two-minute window, allowing teams to conduct practice starts but yielding no significant lap time improvements.
Yuki Tsunoda, eighth, trailed Hadjar by 0.035s, while Williams’ Sainz and Alex Albon completed the top 10. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, returning to F1, delivered a clean 13th, a solid start for the Argentine.
McLaren’s one-two, with Piastri leading Norris by 16 points in the championship, signals their intent to maintain dominance at Imola, where overtaking is notoriously tough. With Gasly’s Alpine and Williams showing unexpected pace, Saturday’s FP3 and qualifying promise a fierce battle, though McLaren remains the team to beat.
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