IMOLA, Italy: Lando Norris turned the tables on pace-setting teammate Oscar Piastri by leading a McLaren one-two in final practice for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday.

The Briton’s best time of one minute and 14.897 seconds completed a McLaren sweep of practice in Ferrari’s backyard, with the champions filling the top two positions in all three sessions.

Australian championship leader Piastri, who was fastest in both Friday sessions and is 16 points clear of Norris after six races, was 0.100 slower this time on a sunny afternoon at Imola.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the four-times world champion who has won the last three races at Imola, was third fastest and only 0.181 off the pace on the medium tire with the battle looking closer.

Mercedes’ 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli was fourth ahead of his home debut but the Bologna-born driver was half a second slower than Norris.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth on the timesheets, with seven-times world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton only 10th on the quicker soft tire as he limbers up for what will be a first race in Italy in the team’s red overalls.

Carlos Sainz, Hamilton’s predecessor at Ferrari, was sixth for Williams ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ George Russell with Alex Albon ninth for Williams.

Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, debuting for Alpine after replacing ousted Australian Jack Doohan, was 18th.

Qualifying for Sunday’s race follows later on Saturday.

AUSTRALIA: Cosmin Olaroiu has just about won it all during his time as a manager, with success following the Romanian in stints in China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, of course, the UAE.

It is in the Emirates that he has spent the bulk of his coaching career, and had most of his success, working at Shabab Al-Ahli, Al-Ain and, most recently, at Sharjah; winning four league titles, two President’s Cups, three League Cups and five Super Cups along the way.

Add those to league titles in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, and China with Jiangsu Suning, and a Qatar Stars Cup with Al-Sadd, and the 55-year-old Bucharest native is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of club football in Asia.

But one thing has eluded the burly Romanian across his almost two decades coaching in Asia — continental silverware. That could finally change against Singapore’s Lion City Sailors on Sunday night.

Olaroiu took Al-Ahli, as Shabab Al-Ahli were then known, to the final of the AFC Champions League in 2015, but came up just short against the now defunct Chinese heavyweights Guangzhou Evergrande, losing 1-0 across the two-legged affair.

Having exacted a modicum of revenge by dethroning Guangzhou when he was coach of Jiangsu Suning, winning the club their first ever league title in 2020, he never got the chance to compete for continental honours after the club went bust just weeks after their title success, as the bubble burst in the Chinese football boom.

But on Sunday night in Singapore, as he prepares to bring his time in club football to a close, having taken on the role of national team coach for the UAE, he has the chance to finally complete the set and add a continental title to his decorated CV.

While it may “only” be the AFC Champions League Two, the second-tier club competition in Asia behind the AFC Champions League Elite, it will still mean the same to a coach that has an insatiable thirst for success.

It has been a season of near misses for Sharjah, who were, until recently, in the running for an unprecedented quadruple. That was when they were still in the hunt for the UAE Pro League title, were in the semifinals of the League Cup, had made the final of the President’s Cup and, of course, the AFC Champions League Two.

But one by one, those titles fell through their grasp. They fell behind Shabab Al-Ahli in the league, with the Dubai-based club ultimately clinching the league title earlier the month.

Shabab Al-Ahli again proved their nemesis in the semifinal of the League Cup, winning 5-3 on aggregate across two legs, while last weekend they let slip a 1-0 lead in the President’s Cup Final to lose 2-1 to, you guessed it, Shabab Al-Ahli.

While the Dubai club has been a thorn in their side for much of the season, Olaroiu and Sharjah exacted some form of revenge in Asia, winning their ACL Two quarterfinal in March in a dramatic penalty shootout, before edging Al-Taawoun in equally dramatic fashion in the semifinal to set up a clash with Singapore’s Lion City Sailors.

With the Saudi side leading 1-0 from the first leg, Sharjah left it late to turn things around in the second leg at home, scoring twice in stoppage-time, in the 94th and 99th minutes, to steal a famous victory.

“This was a special night,” Olaroiu said afterwards with the adrenaline and emotion still coursing through his body.

“I thank the players, the fans, and all the members of the Sharjah club. We deserve to reach this stage.”

Having been confirmed as the next UAE boss, as the nation tries to qualify for its first FIFA World Cup since 1990 — qualification for which, ironically, was sealed in Singapore — a continental title would be a fitting way to bow out, but the announcement of his appointment last month may have proved something of a distraction.

In seven games, across the UAE Pro League and President’s Cup, since his announcement, Sharjah have won just once; a 4-0 win over Ajman. They come into Sunday’s game on the back of four straight defeats, their most recent loss coming at home to Al-Ain earlier this week.

It is far from ideal preparation, but if there is one man that can help turn their fortunes around, it is the veteran Romanian who has proved a master at motivating his players and leading them to success.

Signing off with a continental title would be just reward for someone who has given so much to club football across Asia.