Ferrari set the pace on home soil as the FIA World Endurance Championship rolled into Imola on Friday, with the Italian squad topping Free Practice 1 and sharing the fastest time with BMW in a ultra-close second session
Ferrari continued its strong start to the 2025 FIA WEC season in opening practice for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Imola, as Robert Kubica set the benchmark in Free Practice 1.
In damp-but-drying conditions, the Polish driver put the #83 AF Corse Ferrari at the top of the timing screens with a 1:32.065s lap, set on his final flying effort as the track dried significantly. That time put him 0.236s clear of the #50 Ferrari 499P Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco, who had claimed pole at last year’s inaugural Imola WEC round.
The #12 Cadillac Racing entry, run by Hertz Team JOTA, was third-fastest in the session with Alex Lynn behind the wheel.
Later in the afternoon, Free Practice 2 delivered a remarkably tight contest at the top of the Hypercar leaderboard. Ferrari and BMW astonishingly posted identical lap times, with both Fuoco and Dries Vanthoor recording a 1:30.957s, a rare occurrence in FIA WEC history. The only other known instance came in qualifying for the 6 Hours of Shanghai in 2014, when Porsche and Toyota shared the same average lap time.
Vanthoor’s effort in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 underscored the Bavarian manufacturer’s rising form, as they matched Ferrari blow for blow around the 4.9km Imola circuit.
Taking third in the session was the #36 Alpine A424, with Mick Schumacher delivering Les Bleus’ fastest lap of the day, a 1:31.283s, in his first WEC season.
With Ferrari setting the tone early and BMW showing impressive speed, an intense battle is brewing in the Hypercar field as the action ramps up towards qualifying and Sunday’s six-hour race at Imola.
