Emilia Romagna GP Practice 3: Norris Sets Pace Over Piastri

Sports news » Emilia Romagna GP Practice 3: Norris Sets Pace Over Piastri

4 months ago 66

Lando Norris topped the final practice session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday, outpacing teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. This performance positions him as a strong contender for pole position.

After being slower than his teammate Piastri in Friday`s practice sessions at Imola, Norris reversed the order in the final session before Saturday`s crucial qualifying, scheduled for 3pm local time.

Norris achieved the fastest lap (1:14.897) using soft tyres, just one-tenth of a second quicker than Piastri. Piastri`s best time, however, was set on his second lap with the new softest Pirelli compound, likely resulting in slightly reduced tire performance.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished third, 0.181 seconds behind Norris. Notably, his fastest lap was set on the medium tires, as he couldn`t improve his time on the softs.

Verstappen has recently had the edge over McLaren in qualifying, securing pole in three of the last four races, including the last two. Red Bull seems to have improved the handling of his RB21 car since a challenging start in the first practice session.

Several drivers, including Verstappen, found their best pace on the medium compound. Pirelli`s new C6 tyre, the softest compound debuting this weekend, proved tricky to manage and keep within its optimal performance window for the full 3.05-mile lap at Imola.

Cooler, cloudier conditions on Saturday at Imola might have played a role. McLaren cars again appeared strong, especially when managing tire wear was key.

Local driver Kimi Antonelli improved late on the soft tires to secure fourth place for Mercedes. However, he was still half a second off Norris`s pace, highlighting McLaren`s strong form with their one-two finishes across all practice sessions.

Charles Leclerc was the fastest Ferrari driver in fifth place. Lewis Hamilton, who had braking issues on Friday, finished 10th, three-tenths behind Leclerc, after going off track at the second Rivazza corner during the session.

Williams showed good performance, with Carlos Sainz in sixth and Alex Albon in ninth. Racing Bulls` Isack Hadjar recovered from his Friday crash to finish seventh, ahead of the other Mercedes driver, George Russell.

Sky Sports F1 commentator Anthony Davidson commented, “There`s a lot to analyze from that session.”

He pondered the tire strategy for qualifying: “Which tire will be the right choice for qualifying?”

“One constant is the McLaren pair being at the front,” Davidson added. “The gap isn`t huge, and Verstappen`s best time in third came on the medium tire.”

He questioned Red Bull`s potential on soft tires: “Can Red Bull unlock more performance from their car on the softs, which seemed to be lacking?”

Davidson speculated, “We might see a performance from Max Verstappen similar to Suzuka.”

Page Contents

Emilia Romagna GP Practice Three Timesheet

Driver	Team	Time
1) Lando Norris	McLaren	1:14.897
2) Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.100
3) Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+0.181
4) Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.502
5) Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.554
6) Carlos Sainz	Williams	+0.560
7) Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	+0.611
8) George Russell	Mercedes	+0.765
9) Alex Albon	Williams	+0.835
10) Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.890
11) Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+0.922
12) Oliver Bearman	Haas	+1.047
13) Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+1.078
14) Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.080
15) Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+1.093
16) Gabriel Bortoleto	Sauber	+1.149
17) Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull	+1.213
18) Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.313
19) Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	+1.341
20) Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1.490