With less than a second between the top 18 riders, there was nothing to choose between the field as they battled for the top ten on Friday afternoon. Joan Mir and Luca Marini left themselves with an uphill battle after a tough first day.
With less than a second between the top 18 riders, there was nothing to choose between the field as they battled for the top ten on Friday afternoon. Joan Mir and Luca Marini left themselves with an uphill battle after a tough first day.
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| Italian Grand Prix - Friday Practice |
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Friday, 29th May 2026 |
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| Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello |
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Mugello starts with mixed conditions and mixed fortunes for Honda HRC Castrol |
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| With less than a second between the top 18 riders, there was nothing to choose between the field as they battled for the top ten on Friday afternoon. Joan Mir and Luca Marini left themselves with an uphill battle after a tough first day. |
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A damp and cool morning in Mugello was quickly forgotten as the Italian summer arrived in full force, temperatures climbing rapidly as the sun arrived. The afternoon's session would be further complicated by a pair of red flags, the second appearing when most riders were heading out for their pre-qualifying time attacks.
Of the two Honda HRC Castrol riders, Joan Mir was able to edge ahead on Friday. Ending the day in 15th with a best lap time of 1’45.595, Mir was just over four tenths off a spot in the top ten. Improving his confidence in corner entry should help Mir to make the small, but necessary step, to challenge for the top two come Q1.
Luca Marini was expecting a lot more than what he ultimately achieved on Friday as he sought to improve his feeling on soft tyres. A pair of red flags interrupted the afternoon and meant the #10 lost the full benefit from one of his soft tyre runs. Heading into Saturday in a more challenging position than expected, Marini remains determined to turn his home weekend around.
Tomorrow’s Free Practice 2 session will be crucial for both Mir and Marini to make another step on the RC213V in order to challenge in Q1. If times the majority of the field continues to be covered by under one second, just a few minor improvements could unlock huge potential.
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| Joan Mir 36 |
| Honda HRC Castrol |
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“A strange day, not the performance I was expecting, and the feeling is not there. I’m not able to give my best in the areas where normally I am stronger, and we are missing a little bit everywhere unfortunately. Quite a lot of work to do tonight but I am optimistic that Honda and my guys can find something. The times are really close, so it is not going to take a major revolution to gain a lot of ground.”
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| Luca Marini 10 |
| Honda HRC Castrol |
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“I started with a new soft rear, and I couldn’t get the feeling. When I changed to the medium the feeling was better, so we worked to adjust things in this direction. At the end of the session, I put the soft again, then there was a red flag, and I lost the feeling quite a bit. We need to check deeply tonight to understand why we couldn’t improve more because I was not able to achieve the level I wanted. We keep working to find what we need for tomorrow.”
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