Verstappen turned out to be surprised to take pole position after a dismal Friday and a far from perfect final practice. Late set-up changes did provide what was needed though, leaving Piastri and Norris to bite the dust and end up second and third for McLaren.

Having received a new internal combustion engine just two weeks ago in Miami, Ferrari have elected to equip Charles Leclerc’s SF-24 with another fresh engine for this weekend’s Imola F1 round.

Oscar Piastri headed a dominant McLaren one-two in the final and third practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing third and fourth respectively. F1Technical’s Balazs Szabo reports from Imola.

Formula One’s sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli thinks that soft tyres can be difficult to manage on long runs given the high track temperatures on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Formula One’s sole tyre manufacturer Pirelli thinks that soft tyres can be difficult to manage on long runs given the high track temperatures on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso thinks that traffic can be an issue in qualifying after several drivers encountered slow-moving cars during their qualifying simulation runs on Friday.