Imola FP1: Leclerc puts Ferrari on top as Verstappen struggles
Charles Leclerc offered Ferrari a strong start to its Emilia Romagna GP weekend, the Monegasque topping Friday’s opening session from Mercedes’ George Russell.
As the Scuderia put its new developments to the test, Carlos Sainz clocked in third just ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Championship leader Max Verstappen was only fifth, the Dutchman never feeling happy at the wheel of his RB20 and conceding 0.250s to Leclerc at the end of a session marked by two significant, but fortunately inconsequential, visits through the gravel traps.
The main focal point for F1 teams this weekend is centered on the raft of upgrades that have been introduced for the first European race of the season.
The opening session was thus a valuable opportunity for everyone to gauge their changes while also getting reacquainted with a track where they last raced in 2022 following the cancellation of last year’s race following the devastating floods that hit the Emilia Romagna region.
Kevin Magnussen was absent from the running order in FP1, the Dane ceding his seat to Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman for the first of the Briton’s schedules six Friday practices this year.
Everyone took to the track under clear skies and 24°C ambient temperatures, while track temps sat at 43°C.
Aero rakes and installation laps were the norm at the outset of the proceedings, as was the use of the medium tyre, but Verstappen kicked things off with an early benchmark that was almost immediately bettered by both Russell and Hamilton.
Times quickly tumbled with Hamilton breaching the 1m18s low barrier, only for Piastri and Verstappen to jump to the top.
Meanwhile, Perez slotted into second with the help of a set of soft tyres while Bearman was on the pace right away and well clear of his Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg who, incredibly, is racing for the very first time at Imola.
Twenty minutes in, Alex Albon was seen stranded on the side of the track on the exit of Acque Minerali, the victim of an apparent power shutdown. The Williams driver’s stoppage justifiably brought out the red flag, pausing the session for five minutes.
Gradually, the field transitioned to the soft compound rubber, a switch that benefited Ferrari with Sainz and Leclerc jumping to the top ahead. But Russell then went top, lowering the benchmark to 1m17.094s and edging Sainz by 0.026s.
Leclerc however fought back with 20 minutes to go, the Monegasque dipping down into the 1m16s, one tenth clear of his Mercedes rival.
Shortly after, Hamilton was seen pointing the wrong way after clipping the inside kerb at Acque Minerali. But a quick spin around sent him back on his way.
With less than 10 minutes left on the clock, Leclerc switched to hard tyre, a prelude presumably to a long run.
Verstappen endured a dodgy moment that required a solid dose of opposite lock to keep him out of the barriers at the Variante Alta complex. The Dutchman was evidently not happy with the balance of his RB20.
Meanwhile, Norris’ low-key session improved in the closing minutes, the Miami GP winner placing himself inside the top-ten just ahead of Piastri.
But with a minute to go there was another scare in the Red Bull camp when Verstappen ran straight through the gravel trap at Turn 11, just after he had set the fastest time in Sector 1.
FP1 thus concluded with Leclerc leading Russell, Sainz, Perez and Verstappen who managed to round off the top five.
Thereafter followed an in-form Yuki Tsunoda for RB, Hamilton, Norris, Piastri and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in P10.
In the second half of the field, Gasly was Alpine’s fastest contender, while Bearman acquitted himself well in P15, a time that was oddly 2.5 seconds faster than Hulkenberg’s best, the German charger closing out the field.
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