Site icon FormulaRapida.net

Emilia Romagna GP: Leclerc leads Sainz in wet FP1 ahead of qualifying

  • Darshan Chokhani
    • F1, Emilia Romagna GP

    Ferrari ended up 1-2 in a wet FP1 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen P3.

    It was a wet start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP in Imola with several drivers going off in the opening moments on the wet tyres. By the end of the session, they moved to intermediate compound but they still kept on going off due to damp conditions.

    After the races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, this was their first time on a wet circuit with the 2022 generation of F1 cars. This was also the first chance for teams and drivers to try out the wet and intermediate tyres.

    Pre-session, the FIA updated about new ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, while Williams’ Alexander Albon took a new ES and CE. There were loads of offs as mentioned above with some having multiple.

    The two Ferrari drivers were among the multiple list with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having moments, with McLaren’s Lando Norris even calling out the red flag. Fortunately, the Brit managed to drive back onto the track after brief beached moment.

    The likes of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had moments along with Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a spin post the chequered flag but managed to not hit the barrier.

    In terms of the standings, Ferrari ended up 1-2 with Leclerc (1m29.402s) leading from Sainz (1m30.279s), while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m30.867s) in third from Haas pair of Magnussen and Mick Schumacher in the Top 5.

    The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez slotted in sixth from Alpine’s Alonso with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ George Russell in the Top 10. Alfa Romeo’s Bottas was 11th from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.

    Behind him was Alpine’s Ocon in 13th with McLaren pair of Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in 14th and 15th. Aston Martin’s Stroll was 16th from Williams’ Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou and Williams’ Latifi.

    Among the 20 runners, Hamilton set his time on the wet compound after he complained of lack of grip due to lack of downforce all-through the session. With no more practice run before qualifying later, it leaves teams with little chance to change things due to the restrictions of F1 sprint weekend.