The final practice session at Imola began slowly, with most teams in no hurry to get out on track after two busy sessions on Friday. Lando Norris, who had been narrowly behind Oscar Piastri in both of those sessions, was the first to exit the pits. But after a single tyre preparation lap, he returned to the McLaren garage, and the track went quiet.

The Aston Martins were next. Both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso came out briefly, now running the upgraded AMR25 package after splitting specifications on Friday. Just like Norris, they completed only one lap each before returning to the pits.

It wasn’t until ten minutes into the session that the first proper time was set. Lewis Hamilton clocked a 1:16.9 on medium tyres, followed by rookies Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto. Only five times appeared on the board at that point.

Further into the session, Isack Hadjar made a big impression by going quickest, just 0.021 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Verstappen dropped to third, while George Russell reported heavy bouncing in his Mercedes after going eighth fastest. Kimi Antonelli later put in a stronger lap, climbing to fourth as the session progressed.

Fernando Alonso expressed his frustration with Ferrari after getting blocked by Leclerc, saying they “think they’re alone on the track, always.” Liam Lawson had a spin at the Tamburello chicane but avoided the barriers and continued. Hadjar also had a near miss when he almost collided with Carlos Sainz at the end of the pit lane while practising a start.

As the final fifteen minutes began, most teams switched to soft tyres for quick laps. Norris delivered an impressive effort, setting the fastest time of the session with a purple final sector, beating Verstappen by 0.181 seconds. Oscar Piastri soon improved as well, moving into second place behind his teammate. Not everyone found gains on the softs, but Antonelli managed to stay competitive in fourth. Norris and Hamilton both had light moments in the gravel towards the end, but neither incident caused any damage.

When the session came to a close, McLaren confirmed their strong form with a commanding one-two finish. Lando Norris topped the timesheets with a 1:14.897, just one tenth ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen followed in third, 0.181 seconds off the pace. Kimi Antonelli impressed the home crowd by placing fourth for Mercedes, half a second behind Norris, while Charles Leclerc was the leading Ferrari in fifth.

Carlos Sainz continued Williams’ strong weekend in sixth, narrowly ahead of Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar in seventh. George Russell took eighth for Mercedes, with Alexander Albon ninth in the second Williams. Lewis Hamilton completed the top ten, finishing 0.890 seconds behind the fastest time.