McLaren dominated the first day of free practice at the Imola F1 Grand Prix and is once again the favorite to take the win on Sunday. Carlos Sainz continues to impress with Williams, finishing third in the first free practice session, but was unable to confirm this in the second session. Aston Martin showed little sign of improvement, but we were unable to see Fernando Alonso testing the new parts.
McLaren doesn’t need improvements
It seems that the updates from its rivals have not affected the roadmap in the first free practice sessions of the Imola F1 Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris continue to dominate the grid, leaving their rivals with no options. Piastri continues to lead and Lando Norris follows closely behind, both in free practice 1 and free practice 2.
Carlos Sainz proves the opposite
After the first day of free practice, we can confirm that Williams and Carlos Sainz continue to prove themselves wrong. They said after Miami that their position was unrealistic, as they have been doing all season. The truth is that they are not going to improve during the season, but Carlos Sainz is once again showing that he is getting better every day and that the Williams is a car to fight with, at least for the Top 5. In free practice 1, he set the third fastest time, and in free practice 2, on his only flying lap, he encountered a lot of traffic that prevented him from setting a better time, but the day was positive for Williams.
Fernando Alonso, without testing Aston Martin’s upgrades
The Aston Martin does not seem to have made any progress with the upgrades that Fernando Alonso has not tested, but Lance Stroll has. In free practice 1, the Canadian was better than expected. But the unpleasant surprise came in free practice 2, where Fernando Alonso, again with the car without improvements, set a better time on medium tires than Lance Stroll, who did a qualifying simulation on soft tires. The Oviedo native once again pulled a beastly lap out of his sleeve, but it is no consolation, as the day was disappointing.
Mercedes, the big dark horse
Mercedes could be the big surprise of the weekend. There are updates, and they seem to be working. Judging by what we saw in practice, it seems that they have been more focused on measuring performance than squeezing the most out of the car. It could be one of the surprises of the weekend. The goal is to catch up with McLaren and fight for victories, led by Russell, who, step by step and lying in wait, remains a real threat to be reckoned with.
On the other hand, Ferrari and Red Bull (Leclerc and Verstappen) are stuck behind Mercedes in fifth and sixth place. After free practice 1 and 2, there is still a lot of the weekend to go, and it does not seem that these teams have improved enough to worry McLaren at the moment. The big surprise came from Gasly in the Alpine, who set the third fastest time in the second practice session.
The first day of testing for the Imola Grand Prix leaves us with many unknowns. While it is true that McLaren seems to continue to dominate, the differences across the grid are very small. Many teams have spent today testing new updates, looking for performance rather than lap times. The day is over for the drivers, but not for the team and mechanics, who will have to analyze the data obtained in order to configure the best car to get the cars into the points for qualifying. Carlos Sainz has given reason for hope, while Aston Martin has disappointed again.