Emilia Romagna GP - Free Practice

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MSC Cruises Emilia Romagna GP

Free Practice 1 

May 17, 2024

Leclerc of Ferrari leads the first practice at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc set the pace in his updated Ferrari during the first practice for the Italian Formula One team's home Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola on Friday.

The Monegasque lapped the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in one minute and 16.990 seconds, setting the pace for next week's home event.

With soft tires, Mercedes' George Russell finished second fastest, 0.104 seconds behind, while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished third.

Max Verstappen, the Red Bull title leader and winner of four of the team's six races this season, finished fifth fastest, 0.250 seconds behind the leader, his teammate Sergio Pérez.

At Acque Minerali, Verstappen repeatedly veered off course and bounced across the grass and gravel while lamenting a lack of grip over the radio.

With 22 minutes remaining, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton spun his Mercedes onto the grass at the same set of turns in Italy during his first race since it was announced he would be racing for Ferrari the following season. Despite this, he was still allowed to continue.

After Yuki Tsunoda of RB, the Briton came in seventh place on the timesheets.

Eighth place go to McLaren's Lando Norris, followed by teammate Oscar Piastri in ninth and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in the top 10.

When Alex Albon of Williams pulled over early in the session, there were momentary red flags. After he ran over a curb, the engine cut off, according to the team, and the reason was being looked into.

Oliver Bearman, a British youngster, returned to the Formula One scene after filling in for a sick Sainz in Saudi Arabia. This was Bearman's sixth practice session of the year, and he replaced Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

Bearman clocked in at fifteenth place, while teammate Nico Hülkenberg finished last.

Free Practice 2

May 17, 2024

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari leads practice at Imola while Max Verstappen struggles.

Red Bull's leading Formula One driver, Max Verstappen, had a challenging day in practice for the team's home Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Friday, with Charles Leclerc fastest in his improved Ferrari.

At the Enzo e Dino Ferrari track in Imola, Leclerc dominated both of the sunny sessions and finished with a fastest time of 1:15.906, ahead of his home race in Monaco the following week.

Oscar Piastri of McLaren came closest to Verstappen in the second session, behind Verstappen by just 0.192 seconds, although George Russell finished second fastest for Mercedes in the first session, 0.104 seconds behind him and also on soft tires.

In the first session, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari finished third, while Yuki Tsunoda of RB unexpectedly took the top spot in the second session for his team's home race.

After sliding off course in both sessions, Verstappen, who has won four of the six races this season, lapped fifth and seventh fastest, respectively.

The Dutch driver's car bounced on grass and gravel at Acque Minerali, complaining over the radio of a lack of grip. He was 0.250 off the pace in first practice and 0.541 slower than Leclerc in the second.

"It's so difficult everything, man. This time suddenly the front grips up a lot, I almost spin," stated Verstappen, who at one time seemed irate with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for obstructing his path.

With 22 minutes remaining in the first practice, seven-time world champion Hamilton spun his Mercedes onto the grass in Italy for the first time since it was revealed he would be racing for Ferrari the following season. Despite this, he managed to continue.

In the subsequent stint, the Brit came in fourth.

Lando Norris of McLaren, who won his first professional victory in Miami the previous time around, finished eighth and twelve.

Early in the first session, Alex Albon of Williams raised some red flags. According to the team, the engine stopped down after he ran over a curb.

Oliver Bearman, a teenage British driver, returned to the Formula One scene after filling in for a sick Sainz in Saudi Arabia. This was Bearman's sixth practice session of the year, and he replaced Kevin Magnussen at Haas.

Bearman's 15th quickest time helped him in his quest for a racing spot for the upcoming season, but teammate Nico Hulkenberg finished last.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu stated, "Again, he [Bearman] has done another very, very good job. He's so calm. He understands what he needs to deliver each session, each run, each lap,"

"And he's able to absorb the information so quickly, you know, either from himself from the previous lap or the engineer's feedback. So again, I can't really fault him today. Great job."

Free Practice 3

May 18, 2024

McLaren one-two in final practice at Imola between Piastri and Norris

At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Saturday, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris led a McLaren one-two, while Sergio Pérez of Red Bull and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin both experienced separate crashes.

Third and fourth on the timesheets were Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, who had appeared to be leading the field until the very end. In both of the Friday sessions at Imola, Leclerc was the quickest.

Max Verstappen, the overall leader and three-time Formula One world champion for Red Bull, lagged behind Mercedes' George Russell in sixth place, and his teammate Lewis Hamilton was only seventeenth.

After a challenging Friday, Verstappen was back on track, but he did not finish a soft tire lap.

Piastri completed a lap at Ferrari's home track in a clear, sunny minute and 15.529 seconds.

The previous Miami race winner, Norris, was 0.3 seconds slower.

With thirty-five minutes left in the one-hour practice, Alonso raised the red flags after losing control at the last Rivazza bend.

Once the Spaniard was cleared at the medical center, he climbed out and went back to the paddock.

With five minutes remaining, Perez briefly raised more concerns when the Mexican crashed head-first into the barriers at the Variante Alta chicane.

With two minutes remaining, the cars were vying for a last flying lap when the action picked back up.

Kevin Magnussen of Haas used the grass runoff to stay clear of Daniel Ricciardo of RB, who was on the racing line, while Leclerc passed Sainz hard in an effort to beat the time.

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