Charles Leclerc tops competitive FP1 in upgraded Ferrari
Charles Leclerc leads a tight FP1 session at Imola in his upgraded Ferrari, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell.
Charles Leclerc set the pace in his upgraded Ferrari during a competitive opening practice session at the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Leclerc was the only driver to dip into the 1m16s as he topped FP1 from George Russell, who was encouragingly only 0.104s adrift in his Mercedes, which has also been updated.
Carlos Sainz was third, just 0.130s behind teammate Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, ahead of the Red Bull duo of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in fourth and fifth.
Verstappen had a frustrating session as he struggled in Red Bull’s RB20.
On multiple occasions, the reigning world champion threatened to set the fastest time, only to make an uncharacteristic error and run wide.
Verstappen aborted one lap after running deep and skipping the Variante Alta chicane, before a separate off at Acque Minerale resulted in a trip through the gravel.
RB’s Yuki Tsunoda was sixth ahead of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who had been on course to better his time before having a big spin at Acque Minerale.
F1’s newest winner, Lando Norris, was eighth, while McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso completed the rest of the top 10.
Ferrari junior Oliver Bearman finished 15th, 1.6s off the pace, in his third FP1 appearance for Haas.
A stoppage for Alex Albon brought out the session’s only red flag after the Williams driver’s car appeared to shut down after a ride over the kerbs.
