Ferrari set the tempo on residence soil because the FIA World Endurance Championship rolled into Imola on Friday, with the Italian squad topping Free Apply 1 and sharing the quickest time with BMW in a ultra-close second session
Ferrari continued its sturdy begin to the 2025 FIA WEC season in opening apply for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Imola, as Robert Kubica set the benchmark in Free Apply 1.
In damp-but-drying circumstances, the Polish driver put the #83 AF Corse Ferrari on the prime of the timing screens with a 1:32.065s lap, set on his closing flying effort because the observe dried considerably. That point put him 0.236s away from the #50 Ferrari 499P Hypercar pushed by Antonio Fuoco, who had claimed pole finally yr’s inaugural Imola WEC spherical.
The #12 Cadillac Racing entry, run by Hertz Group JOTA, was third-fastest within the session with Alex Lynn behind the wheel.
Later within the afternoon, Free Apply 2 delivered a remarkably tight contest on the prime of the Hypercar leaderboard. Ferrari and BMW astonishingly posted similar lap instances, with each Fuoco and Dries Vanthoor recording a 1:30.957s, a uncommon incidence in FIA WEC historical past. The one different identified occasion got here in qualifying for the 6 Hours of Shanghai in 2014, when Porsche and Toyota shared the identical common lap time.
Vanthoor’s effort within the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 underscored the Bavarian producer’s rising kind, as they matched Ferrari blow for blow across the 4.9km Imola circuit.
Taking third within the session was the #36 Alpine A424, with Mick Schumacher delivering Les Bleus’ quickest lap of the day, a 1:31.283s, in his first WEC season.
With Ferrari setting the tone early and BMW displaying spectacular pace, an intense battle is brewing within the Hypercar area because the motion ramps up in the direction of qualifying and Sunday’s six-hour race at Imola.
