Championship leader Oscar Piastri topped the times ahead of McLaren team-mate and nearest rival Lando Norris in Friday's opening practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with the two drivers separated by only 0.032 seconds. Piastri clocked a best time of 1min 16.545sec to go fastest with Williams' Carlos Sainz taking third place ahead of Mercedes' George Russell and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. After an intense session, curtailed by a late crash involving Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto of Sauber, who was unhurt, the top five were separated by only 0.096sec.