Nico Hulkenberg rages at 'dangerous' Lewis Hamilton during the F1 Imola GP FP1

Nico Hulkenberg lashed out at a slow Lewis Hamilton during free practice one at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Friday, as the German driver claimed Hamilton's antics out on track were 'dangerous'. Both drivers were on slow laps at that point, but Hulkenberg objected to the place on the track where the #44 Ferrari was moving slowly.

Not too much happened during the FP1 session around Imola, as all teams and drivers looked to refamiliarize themselves with the iconic Italian track. The McLaren drivers set the pace yet again at the start of the weekend, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris leading the timing sheets.

Many drivers did trip over each other during the session, though, given the narrow nature of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Two of these were Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton, as the former almost went into the back of a slow moving Ferrari, while also on a slow lap.

"****, and it's so dangerous when you go up the hill going slow, Hamilton." said Hulkenberg over the team radio.

The Kick Sauber team have impressed in the first practice session of the weekend, with Nico Hulkenberg ending the session in P10, and Gabriel Bortoleto just ahead of him in ninth. However, the session ended on a negative note for the Swiss team as Bortoleto went into the barriers at the Rivazza corner, bringing out a red flag and the subsequent end of the session.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, finished the FP1 session in a solid P5. The 40-year-old is participating in his first home race for the team since joining Ferrari at the start of the 2025 season from Mercedes.

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Lewis Hamilton struggling with his brakes during FP1 at the Emilia-Romagna GP

Lewis Hamilton driving his Ferrari during FP1 - Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton shared that he was struggling with the front brakes on his SF-25 challenger in the early stages of the FP1 session of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Friday. The Briton also claimed that the brakes were at least consistent and got better throughout the lap.

Sharing feedback with his race engineer during the FP1 session at Imola on Friday, Hamilton told his race engineer Riccardo Adami:

"Yeah brakes, they're consistent but the fronts don't seem to be working that well. They get better through the lap."

"We are still evolving through the lap, we do see some data," replied Adami over the team radio.

As previously mentioned, Hamilton ended the FP1 session in P5, only 0.096s to leader Oscar Piastri. The Briton's Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, was down in P12, almost half a second off the front runners.

Hamilton will be looking to find a similar pace throughout the weekend at Imola, as the 7x world champion continues to settle in at the team from Maranello. He is yet to beat Leclerc in any conventional qualifying or race sessions this season, a statistic which he will surely be eager to change sooner rather than later.