Formula 1 returned to Europe with the start of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend at Imola. Local hero Kimi Antonelli got the crowd excited early on by setting the fastest time on his first timed lap, narrowly ahead of Lando Norris. But that early lead didn’t last long in a busy session where the order kept changing.

There was almost contact between Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc, with Alonso complaining over the radio about how close the two came. Leclerc admitted fault, raising his hand in apology.

Oliver Bearman only completed a few laps before returning to the pits as the team made adjustments to his newly upgraded car.

Pirelli’s new softest compound, the C6 tyre, was in use for the first time this year. George Russell took advantage and briefly went quickest, ahead of Norris and Yuki Tsunoda, while rookie Gabriel Bortoleto impressed by running fourth on medium tyres.

Max Verstappen struggled with grip, describing his Red Bull as “sliding a lot,” after running wide at the final corner. Leclerc also had issues, complaining about uncomfortable helmet movement. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton went straight on at a chicane and told his Ferrari team that the car “won’t stop.”

In the final minutes, it looked like a strong start for McLaren, with Piastri leading Norris and Sainz. Verstappen couldn’t match the pace and was visibly frustrated, ending the session in seventh place.

With just two minutes left, the session came to a halt when Bortoleto crashed at the final corner, damaging the front of his car and bringing out the red flag. That incident effectively ended the session early.

In the end, Piastri’s 1:16.545 was enough to hold onto first place, just 0.028s ahead of Norris. Sainz was close behind in third, with Russell fourth and Hamilton rounding out the top five. Pierre Gasly was sixth for Alpine, just ahead of Verstappen.

Bortoleto still finished in the top ten despite his crash, just in front of teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Leclerc, who missed the media day on Tueasday due to illness, could only manage 12th, while Antonelli ended the session in 13th.

Elsewhere, Franco Colapinto made his official F1 weekend debut for Alpine. He had a moment early in the session but eventually ended up 17th, ahead of both Haas drivers and Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bulls.