In the opening practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the fastest time, outpacing his closest competitor by over 0.1 second. Leclerc's impressive performance came after Ferrari introduced major updates to their car, featuring revised aerodynamics around the bodywork and floor.
The first practice session saw a total of 30 drivers take to the track, with Leclerc leading the way for Ferrari. McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished second, while Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri was third.
Max Verstappen, the championship leader driving for Red Bull Racing, struggled with grip and overheating issues in his car. He ended up fifth on the timesheet, 0.25 seconds behind Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton finished seventh for Mercedes, just ahead of teammate George Russell. Carlos Sainz was sixth for Ferrari and Sergio Perez eighth for Red Bull Racing.
Verstappen spent both sessions complaining over the radio about the behavior of his car. In the first session, he lacked grip at the Acque Minerale combination of corners, while in the afternoon he said it was difficult to handle as suddenly the front grips up a lot and almost caused him to spin.
Leclerc looked comfortable in Ferrari's upgraded car all day. Norris retained the fastest time in the second sector throughout both sessions, underlining his inherent pace despite his lowly position on the timesheets.
Verstappen was still struggling with Red Bull's upgrade, unable to set consistently quick times and running wide at Rivazza at one point.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was sixth, while McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were eighth and ninth. Fernando Alonso finished 10th for Alpine F1 Team.
Daniel Ricciardo went off the track at Rivazza on an early flying lap but rejoined to end the session 13th. Ferrari reserve driver Oliver Bearman completed his first of six scheduled FP1 appearances with Haas, bouncing back from a heavy crash at Tamburello in practice for Formula 2 earlier in the day.
