Formula 1 News: Norris tops practice 3 for GP of Emilia Romagna

Lando Norris turned a lap of 1m14.897s on the soft C6 Pirelli tires to top final practice for the 2025 GP of Romagna at Imola.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

While most of the drivers found the medium tires faster in this session, both McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did set their fastest lap on the C6 Soft Pirelli tires.

Piastri ended up 0.100s slower than Norris while Max Verstappen was third fastest, 0.181s behind Norris but on the C5 Medium Pirelli tires.

How much is Verstappen carrying the Red Bull sled on his back?  His teammate Yuki Tsunoda, in the identical car, was 1.1s slower than Verstappen down in 17th place.

Four of the top 10 set their best time on the medium rubber. Food for thought for later.

Kimi Antonelli was 4th fastest on the C6 tires on his Mercedes, 0.502s behind Norris.

Charles Leclerc rounded out the top-5 in his #16 Ferrari, 0.554s behind Norris.

Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton was down in 10th, 0.890s behind Norris and outperformed by his more talented teammate once again.

Even though the medium tires appear to be faster, the teams cannot afford to use them in qualifying because they need to save a set for the race.

Verstappen has three poles from the first six Grands Prix, Piastri two and Norris one. But McLaren have been quickest here so far, finishing 1-2 in every session.

Can Norris grab a first pole since Australia driving the superior #4 McLaren? Or has Piastri got something up his sleeve in the superior #81 McLaren?

2025 GP of Romagna Practice 3 Results