F1 heads to Italy as Imola hosts the first leg of the European summer stint, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and round seven of the 2025 F1 season this weekend.
Oscar Piastri won his third race in a row last time out in Miami, extending his championship lead with McLaren teammate Lando Norris now 16 points behind.
Mercedes’ George Russell earned his fourth podium of the year with a third-place finish, while pole-sitter Max Verstappen finished fourth. As for Ferrari, it was another weekend to forget with an irritated Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth, with Charles Leclerc just a spot ahead in seventh.
Yet the Scuderia will be eyeing an improvement in front of their home tifosi crowd in Imola. Last year, Verstappen won the race after holding off a late charge from Norris.
Follow live updates from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with The Independent
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F1 EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX - LATEST UPDATES
- Round seven of the 2025 F1 season takes place in Imola
- Qualifying on Saturday is at 3pm (BST); FP3 is at 11:30am
- Oscar Piastri was quickest in FP1 and FP2 with Lando Norris also second in both sessions
- Lewis Hamilton makes Ferrari admission: ‘I didn’t know how tough it would be’
- FEATURE: Welcome to Maranello, Ferrari’s hometown where history weighs heavy on F1’s greatest team
What are the start times this weekend in Imola?
17:59
,
Kieran Jackson
All times BST
Saturday 17 May
- Free practice 3: 11:30am
- Qualifying: 3pm
Sunday 18 May
- Race: 2pm
NEW: Ferrari fined after Charles Leclerc tyre error in Imola GP practice
18:09
,
Kieran Jackson
Ferrari have been fined €5,000 (£4,200) for breaking the rules regarding tyre pressures on Charles Leclerc’s car in practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Both Leclerc and teammate Lewis Hamilton complained about brake issues, giving more problems for team principal Fred Vasseur and his engineers to fix ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
But just after Friday’s running in Imola, the FIA released a statement saying Ferrari had broken the regulations regarding tyre temperatures.
FULL FP2 RESULTS:
17:18
,
Kieran Jackson
FP2 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 16, 2025
Piastri by a whisker from Norris at the top #F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/hWX1C9Yl80
Oscar Piastri quickest again!
17:06
,
Kieran Jackson
Different practice session, same result!
Piastri tops the timesheet, 0.025 seconds clear of Lando Norris!
Pierre Gasly will be delighted with P3 for Alpine, while Russell was fourth-fastest and Verstappen fifth-fastest.
6-10: Leclerc, Hadjar, Tsunoda, Albon, Sainz
Lewis Hamilton, after a session in which he moaned about his brakes, was P11 - 0.650 seconds off top spot!
Session resumes!
16:58
A quick removal of Hadjar’s car and, with two minutes left and with a big queue at the end of the pit-lane, we’re back to green flag conditions in practice!
RED FLAG!
16:54
,
Kieran Jackson
Isack Hadjar comes off track!
The Racing Bulls driver manages to get his car going again, having skewed off track, but comes to a halt on the edge of the Tamburello turn!
Something is amiss - and the stewards stop the session with eight minutes left!
Antonelli close to Tsunoda!
16:47
Not much change to the leaderboard with most cars now performing race simulation runs, but Kimi Antonelli comes close to a collision with Yuki Tsunoda at the penultimate turn!
Antonelli: “That was super dangerous from the Red Bull.”
Tsunoda left just enough space on the outside for Antonelli to squeeze his Mercedes through.
15:00 to go in FP2...
Brake issues at Ferrari!
16:38
,
Kieran Jackson
No guesses for what Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc is now complaining about!
“The brakes in mode warm up are horrendous mate,” he says.
Upgrades? Seemingly not, so far.
Oscar Piastri leapfrogs his teammate for P1!
16:32
,
Kieran Jackson
The gap? Tiny, just 0.025 seconds. But it’s enough for Oscar Piastri to take P1 from McLaren teammate Lando Norris!
1-10: Piastri, Norris, Gasly, Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hadjar, Tsunoda, Albon, Hamilton
Half-an-hour gone; half-an-hour to go!
Lewis Hamilton on team radio:
16:29
,
Kieran Jackson
“These damn brakes mate, ugh, these brakes are a problem,” Hamilton says.
Not much improvement from his irritation in first practice, it seems!
Lando Norris quickest early on!
16:16
,
Kieran Jackson
Much like the start of FP1, Norris is quickest out of the blocks with a 1:16:952 - 0.040 secs quicker than the once again impressive Williams of Carlos Sainz!
3-10: Albon, Piastri, Leclerc, Gasly, Verstappen, Russell, Tsunoda, Hadjar
Early days in the session though! Hamilton is P11, having been blocked by two cars on one of his flying laps!
45:00 left...
Fernando Alonso and Franco Colapinto almost collide!
16:10
,
Kieran Jackson
A fast Alonso almost crashes into the back of a slow-moving Colapinto for Alpine!
Alonso: “I mean, I nearly crashed.”
The incident down at turn 2 has been noted by the stewards...
FP2 underway!
16:04
,
Kieran Jackson
A big session this for the teams as they look to nail their race-pace and fine-tune their setups ahead of the weekend’s action!
Nineteen drivers straight out on track, the only exception is the Mercedes of George Russell.
FULL FP1 RESULTS
14:01
,
Kieran Jackson
FP1 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 16, 2025
Piastri leads a McLaren 1-2, Hermann seventh on debut #F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/sfdFSmp0uu
Oscar Piastri quickest in first practice!
13:34
,
Kieran Jackson
The championship leader has set the tone here - he goes quickest with a 1:16:545, just 0.032 secs quicker than his teammate Lando Norris in second!
Carlos Sainz is an impressive third-fastest for Williams, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and fifth respectively - the whole top-5 is seperated by less than 0.1 seconds!
6-10: Gasly, Verstappen, Albon, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg
RED FLAG!
13:31
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Kieran Jackson
Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto is in the gravel!
The Brazilian took the kerb and lost control, with his front wing now wedged in the gravel!
That’ll be the end of the session me thinks!
TOP-10 WITH 10 MINS TO GO:
13:21
1. Piastri - 1:16:545
2. Norris +0.032
3. Sainz +0.052
4. Russell +0.054
5. Hamilton +0.096
6. Gasly +0.151
7. Verstappen +0.360
8. Albon +0.377
9. Bortoleto +0.380
10. Hulkenberg +0.453
Lewis Hamilton on team radio:
13:06
,
Kieran Jackson
“The car doesn’t want to stop,” Hamilton says as he drives down to the first chicane!
Oh dear.
George Russell shoots up to P1!
13:01
,
Kieran Jackson
Track is ramping up now and Russell goes to the top with a 1:16:599, two-tenths quicker than Carlos Sainz!
3-10: Verstappen, Gasly, Antonelli, Norris, Albon, ALonso, Tsunoda, Bortoleto
Charles Leclerc:
12:57
,
Kieran Jackson
“Helmet lift is horrible, horrible.”
Issues for Ferrari - Leclerc currently down in P17!
Lando Norris quickest early on!
12:45
The McLaren driver on soft tyres sets the early benchmark with a 1:17:491, 0.070 secs quicker than George Russell in second. Lewis Hamilton is third fastest with Fernando Alonso in fourth and Fernando Alonso in fifth.
15 mins gone...
FP1 underway!
12:30
,
Kieran Jackson
Ollie Bearman is the first car straight out on track as we get going with the first one-hour practice session in Imola!
FP1 coming up!
12:25
,
Kieran Jackson
We’re just five minutes away from the first bit of action on track in Imola this weekend!
Who can set the early pace - and will anyone be able to topple McLaren, who have dominated practice sessions so far this season?
Verstappen, Bearman and Hamilton all arrive in the Imola paddock!
11:44
,
Kieran Jackson
NEW: Ferrari make late call on Charles Leclerc fitness at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
11:32
,
Kieran Jackson
Ferrari have confirmed that Charles Leclerc will participate in Friday practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix despite a bout of illness.
The Monegasque driver was absent from media duties on Thursday, putting his participation in the first two practice sessions on Friday in some doubt.
Yet a Ferrari source confirmed that the 27-year-old was “fine” and would be in the cockpit for practice in Imola.
Start times this weekend in Imola:
10:36
,
Kieran Jackson
Here’s all your key timings this weekend!
Friday 16 May
- Free practice 1: 12:30pm
- Free practice 2: 4pm
Saturday 17 May
- Free practice 3: 11:30am
- Qualifying: 3pm
Sunday 18 May
- Race: 2pm
All times BST
F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix!
10:35
,
Kieran Jackson
Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola!
Oscar Piastri won his third race in a row last time out in Miami, extending his championship lead with McLaren teammate Lando Norris now 16 points behind.
Mercedes’ George Russell earned his fourth podium of the year with a third-place finish, while pole-sitter Max Verstappen finished fourth. As for Ferrari, it was another weekend to forget with an irritated Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth, with Charles Leclerc just a spot ahead in seventh.
Yet the Scuderia will be eyeing an improvement in front of their home tifosi crowd in Imola. Last year, Verstappen won the race after holding off a late charge from Norris.
