The headlines from FP3 at Imola

Hypercar

• The final free practice session prior to qualifying for tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Imola was completed amid consistently warm and sunny conditions at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo et Dino Ferrari this morning 
• The 60-minute session witnessed a Ferrari one-two as the #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen led the way 
• The Italian set an ultimate quickest lap time of 1m30.370s – the fastest of the week so far – to head the sister #51 prototype by 0.323secs
• Antonio Giovinazzi posted the #51 Ferrari’s best on 1m30.693s, as the Prancing Horse continues to showcase its speed and consistency on home soil 
• Placing third and getting close to the Ferraris was the #35 Alpine, which headed the times in the second free practice session on Friday afternoon. Charles Milesi was again the crew’s pace-setter as the Frenchman peaked on a 1m30.712s
• Ferrari put all three of its cars inside the top four as Robert Kubica set a 1m30.894s in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P – but the Pole was investigated for slowing unreasonably at the Rivazza corner ahead of starting a quick lap 
• The top four all eclipsed the fastest time set on Friday as the pace ramped up in the first 20 minutes of FP3, before teams turned their attention to long runs and evaluation of the new Michelin tyre in preparation for race stints
• The fastest TOYOTA RACING representative in FP3 was the #7 TR010 Hybrid, with Nyck de Vries completing a best lap of 1m30.946s in the much revised Japanese Hypercar
• Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA showed some improved pace after a low-key Friday, as the #12 V-Series.R of Will Stevens and Norman Nato rounded out the top six 
• The remainder of the top ten was completed by the #8 Toyota – which was forced to pit in the final 15 minutes as Brendon Hartley picked up a puncture, but was able to return to action immediately – the #38 Cadillac, the #15 BMW and the #94 Peugeot

LMGT3

• A close and ever-changing LMGT3 session saw the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage continue its strong form, with local resident Mattia Drudi setting the best lap of 1m41.973s
• TF Sport wound up second as Jonny Edgar left it late to punch in a 1m41.998s aboard the #33 Corvette that he shares with temporary stand-in Blake McDonald and Nicky Catsburg; that effort was just 0.025secs shy of the Aston Martin’s ultimate pace
• The #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG showed strongly in third position as Maxime Martin, Rui Andrade and Martin Berry consolidated some encouraging running in free practice; the experienced Belgian set the crew’s best time of 1m42.110s 
• Team WRT put itself in the conversation for a crack at pole position at the track where the squad triumphed in 2024 and finished runner-up 12 months ago, with the #69 BMW of Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Dan Harper ending up fourth 
• Securing fifth and seventh were the pair of Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC Fs, the #87 car heading the sister #78 entry by just 0.074ses
• But splitting them with a last lap flyer was Charlie Eastwood in the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette, as the Northern Irishman’s 1m42.363 secured a late sixth position
• Qualifying for the 6 Hours of Imola is scheduled to begin at 14:30 local time (CEST), with LMGT3’s qualifying and Hyperpole sessions preceding the Hypercar battle for grid slots

Check out the full FP3 lap times.

All of FIA WEC. All of endurance racing’s greatest battles. Watch live and on demand with FIAWEC+ – the official streaming platform of the FIA World Endurance Championship, wherever you are, whenever you want, including the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Stream FIA WEC live with FIAWEC+.