Sat May 17 13:10:00 UTC 2025: **Headline: Norris Leads Final Practice at Imola as Soft Tires Cause Headaches**

**Imola, Italy -** Lando Norris topped the timesheets in the final practice session of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, setting a fastest lap of 1:14.897. The McLaren driver’s performance came as many teams struggled to find grip and optimal performance with the new C6 soft tire, Pirelli’s softest compound for the season, making its debut this weekend.

While McLaren secured another 1-2 finish with Oscar Piastri closely following Norris, the session was far from smooth. Norris himself had a notable excursion through the gravel at the Tamburello chicane, reporting balance issues despite setting the fastest time.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who initially showed strong pace on the medium C5 tires, couldn’t improve his time significantly on the C6, finishing third overall, 0.181 seconds behind Norris. Verstappen has expressed concerns the softer compound this weekend will hurt Red Bull’s performance. Several drivers, including Yuki Tsunoda, actually set their best times on the medium tires, further highlighting the challenges posed by the soft compound.

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed, finishing fourth fastest, but was still half a second off the leading McLaren. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’ Carlos Sainz rounded out the top six.

The session was not without incident, as Liam Lawson had a spin at the Tamburello chicane, mirroring a similar incident from teammate Isack Hadjar on Friday.

The struggles with the C6 tire suggest that qualifying could be a strategic minefield, with teams forced to carefully manage tire degradation and potentially rethink their qualifying strategies.

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