Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in FP2 of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, recovering his pace from the first practice session as the battle for the top position among multiple teams was fierce.
Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed the top five on Friday, but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez remained seventh and eighth.
Charles Leclerc records fastest time in FP2 as Emilia Romagna GP preparations progress
Imola proved to be a difficult track for drivers to get used to in FP1 earlier in the day. Precision was key as off-roads occurred in Rivazza’s downhill braking zone, with more gravel and grass on three different corners.
There was also a driver change at Haas, with Kevin Magnussen returning to his regular cockpit after Oliver Bearman took his place in FP1, with the majority of the field remaining on track on Friday for further laps around Imola.
Verstappen and Lando Norris were at the top of the standings after the opening run, with the Red Bull driver leading McLaren and FP1 session leader Charles Leclerc by just 0.050s to within 10 seconds in the early stages, but the real difference in pace The trials were yet to come.
The first spinner of the session was Pierre Gasly, who found his car’s limits within the first 10 minutes when he caught too much on the curb at the Variante Alta chicane, sending his Alpine tumbling onto the grass.
Hiroki Tsunoda’s 1 minute 16.895 seconds was briefly faster than anyone else on medium tires, but Leclerc quickly snatched him away with a 1 minute 16.677 seconds, followed shortly after by Carlos Sainz, who was just 0.003 faster than his teammate. Although the difference was close to a second, the qualifying simulation was still to come. You can quickly find out the pace of one lap by wearing soft tires.
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👉 Emilia Romagna GP: Ferrari upgrades Charles Leclerc to P1 as Max Verstappen struggles in FP1
George Russell was the first Mercedes player to achieve this record, but although he improved his time by more than four-tenths from his previous best time, it was still 10 seconds slower than Leclerc’s fastest time on Ferrari medium tyres. it was late.
Norris had a lead of more than half a second over Leclerc in the first two sectors, but he went wide in the second Rivazza, ending his lap early and grabbing the gravel on the exit before heading into the pits.
Leclerc turned on the timing screen and became the first driver to break into the 1 minute 15 second range on soft tires, recording a time of 1 minute 15.969 seconds. He set a time seven-tenths faster than his previous best, giving the tifosi hope that Ferrari could be in the race for victory. Qualifying.
Verstappen’s slow second sector prevented him from competing for the lead, but Oscar Piastri set the second fastest time for a McLaren, ten seconds ahead of Leclerc. Russell improved his Mercedes on his second run on soft tires, taking provisional third place. before Hamilton overtook him by 0.014 seconds faster.
However, Tsunoda performed well in the Faenza-based team’s home race, clocking an excellent lap for the RB driver in a time of 1 minute 16.286 seconds, snatching third place from the Mercedes duo.
At the end of the session, the focus was still on long-run pace, but Norris’s mid-ranking was hardly representative of the McLaren driver on Saturday.
Verstappen complained again about the feel of his car before raising his hand from the cockpit at the exit of Hamilton’s Villeneuve chicane, believing the Mercedes driver had not given way quickly enough. It looked like a difficult session for the three-time world champion after he was tripped up by gravel on a long run in Rivazza.
But the world championship leaders appear to have a challenge on their hands this weekend, with Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and even RB Tsunoda looking to pose a challenge for Red Bull.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2024: FP2 Classification
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.906
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.192
3 Hiroki Tsunoda RB+0.380
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.391
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.405
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.517
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.541
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull +0.646
9 Nico Hulkenberg Haas +0.920
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.932
11 Daniel Ricardo RB +1.061
12 Lando Norris McLaren +1.074 [medium tyres]
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.085
14 Esteban OCON Alpine +1.102
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.158
16 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +1.182
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.223
18 Alexander Albon Williams +1.229
19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +1.700
20 Logan Sargent Williams +1.942
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