Imola Grand Prix: Ferrari draw first blood on home turf, Haas put on a strong show in FP1

Imola Grand Prix: Ferrari draw first blood on home turf, Haas put on a strong show in FP1

All 10 teams of the Formula 1 grid got their first taste of the Imola Grand Prix in Free-Practice 1 session. The session started for the teams not in the way they would have predicted. The Italian venue has presented the teams with wet condition in just their first session. The teams having no data about these modern cars domineered by ground effect at the Imola circuit struggled to find pace commencing their weekend. The Imola Grand Prix consisting of a sprint race weekend format translated into Qualifying later today. The data the teams gather from Free Practice 1 is highly representative for them aiming to grab pole position later today.

The rain views the teams using the Full Wet and Intermediate tyre compounds on their cars. The teams are also allocated an addition set of tyres due to wet condition being a factor. The Full wet tyre is a difficult compound to get the temperature in which results in poor traction for the car on track. The Intermediate compound on the other hand is easier to get the temperature into.Each driver went out on the Imola track on Full Wet tyre compound. In the initial stages, each driver looked like they were driving on ice as they found it difficult to find reference points on their first time out.

A Red Bull – Ferrari Duel for Pole At Imola Grand Prix

Sergio Perez's Red Bull in FP3
Sergio Perez’s Red Bull in FP3

The session progressed and the track dried after a few runs by each driver. This meant the Intermediate tyre compound coming into play and showing promising results. The driver were able to find a little bit more grip on this compound and that resulted in faster lap times. Each driver was cautious of the conditions every lap around Imola to not end up in the barriers as that could have had repercussions in Qualifying. However, just as the session came to close Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas managed to touch the barriers.

FS Video
POSITIONNAMETIME
1.CHARLES LECLERC1.29.402
2.CARLOS SAINZ1.30.279
3.MAX VERSTAPPEN1.30.867
4.KEVIN MAGNUSSEN1.32.439
5.MICK SCHUMACHER1.32.988
6.SERGIO PEREZ1.33.012
7.FERNANDO ALONSO1.33.160
8.SEBASTIAN VETTEL1.33.365
9.YUKI TSUNODA1.33.611
10. GEORGE RUSSELL1.34.262
Results of the FP1 session

The session was topped by the championship leader, Charles Leclerc, followed by Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen. The season story so far has seen a dominance up ahead by the two teams Red Bull and Ferrari. It seems to stay the same today in the qualifying with the Imola Grand Prix seeing another fight between the championship protagonists, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. The driver with a fresh Ferrari contract, Carlos Sainz would also aim to make a mark at the Ferrari’s home race.

The session saw a red flag brought out by Mclaren of Lando Norris. After, the Red Bull and Ferrari team, the timing classifications saw the two HAAS cars in Free Practice 1. The talk in the paddock is targeted at HAAS to be termed as ‘The White Ferrari’ due to similarities in the car design this year. However, the wet race track has shown encouraging prospects for the Qualifying session later today, with the Ferrari team looking as the favourites to clinch pole position.