Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc sets fastest time in FP1 at Imola, Lewis Hamilton trails again

Formula 1 frontrunner Charles Leclerc was the fastest at FP1 for Ferrari at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix with a time of 1:29.402. The conditions were dreadful to start the session on Friday at Imola, the first race of the season to adopt the qualifying-sprint-race setup seen last season.

Ad/> With points on offer both on Saturday and Sunday, Free Practice 1 took on extra importance as the third practice session is axed to make way for the two race events, and there is more to race for over the weekend, with less time afforded for fine-tuning. Emilia-Romagna Grand PrixHow does the sprint format work? When is qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix?3 HOURS AGO In such wet conditions it was the first time for the cars to get extensive experience of how their cars would perform in the rain, and many drivers were reticent to get out early in the session.

Ferrari went into the race both as leaders in the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, with Monegasque Leclerc leading the way for the Italians, just as he did in their home circuit. Red Bull had plenty of work to do to prove they were not suffering from their old reliability problems, and of course there was focus on how Lewis Hamilton would fare for Mercedes after struggling compared to his new teammate, George Russell.

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