Oscar Piastri has delivered the second fastest time in practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, impressing after his McLaren was given the full package of upgrades.

It left the Australian predicting more great things for his British-based team in Sunday’s race following his teammate Lando Norris‘s triumph at the Miami Grand Prix last time out.

On that occasion a fortnight ago, Briton Norris took full advantage of the full complement of upgrades to win his maiden F1 race, while Piastri’s car had only a select number of the new components.


 

On level terms, Piastri enjoyed the better day over two practice sessions this time as Norris finished eighth and 12th in the two sessions compared to the Aussie’s ninth and second.

It left Piastri, who had looked set to challenge for a podium position himself in Miami before a collision with Carlos Sainz, encouraged that he too could be in the shake-up this weekend.

Aussie Oscar Piastri is all smiles after clocking the second fastest time in practice in Italy
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Aussie Oscar Piastri is all smiles after clocking the second fastest time in practice in Italy

Piastri has had a full suite of upgrades carried out on his McLaren to boost his podium chances
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Piastri has had a full suite of upgrades carried out on his McLaren to boost his podium chances

The Aussie is bullish about his chances at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix following practice
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The Aussie is bullish about his chances at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix following practice