World Cup leader Charles Leclerc is ahead of Ferrari’s dominant performance to finish ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in wet conditions in Imola; Watch Emilia Romagna’s qualification live on Sky Sports F1 at 16:00 on Friday
Last updated: 22/04/22 15:28
Charles Leclerc was the fastest in practice 1 for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc was the fastest ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz, as Ferrari showed a dominant performance in the wet first practice of the Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna.
The World Cup leader’s time of 1: 29.402 was almost 0.9 seconds behind Sainz, with Max Verstappen still 0.5 seconds behind Red Bull, before qualifying later Friday in Imola, which will put the grid for the first sprint for the season on saturday.
In a session in which cars spin regularly and struggle to stay on the track in challenging conditions, Haas was the surprise package as Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher finished fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of Sergio Perez’s other Red Bull.
Meanwhile, it was another disappointing performance for Mercedes, with George Russell 10th and Lewis Hamilton 18th – and seven seconds behind Leclerc’s time – as the Silver Arrows again failed to compete with rivals.
There was a lot of intrigue in the session, as the all-new 2022 Formula One cars faced real wet conditions for the first time, but in the end Leclerc’s dominance at the start of the season was only exaggerated, as Ferrari did its best. well with the wet and cold track of the Italian family doctor team.
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Leclerc has a second spin during a training session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Leclerc has a second spin during a training session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
As the session started with all drivers using all-wet tires, it initially seemed that Ferrari and Red Bull would be closely matched once again, but the change of midway midfielders led Leclerc to rise to his own league.
The Monegac, who holds a 34-point lead at the top of the World Cup after winning two of the first three races of the season, seemed to be struggling to master the conditions as he spun several times, narrowly avoiding what could be a costly clash. with the wall in one case.
However, this incident seems to sharpen Leclerc’s focus, as he entered the last quarter of the session, creating a lap that even his teammate Sainz could not get close to.
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Anthony Davidson reviews a challenging training session from the Imola rain track
Anthony Davidson reviews a challenging training session from the Imola rain track
While drier conditions are possible in qualifying and could change the landscape later on Friday, the 1.4s Verstappen overtook Leclerc will be of great concern to Red Bull, who was previously closely compared to Ferrari.
“Ferrari and Haas will be praying for rain until the end of this weekend,” said Anthony Davidson of Sky Sports F1.
“What an advantage they have. If you had told me earlier this weekend that Charles Leclerc would have a 1.5-second lead, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Although there was no doubt about the top spot after Leclerc’s stunning time, Valteri Botas ensured that the session ended dramatically as he almost hit the wall after a spin, with the checkered flag already waving.
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The mechanics of Alfa Romeo are pleasantly surprised, as Valteri Botas finds it difficult to avoid the barriers in practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The mechanics of Alfa Romeo are pleasantly surprised, as Valteri Botas finds it difficult to avoid the barriers in practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Wolf: Mercedes has no traction I enjoy the challenge of being bad
After being significantly slower than Ferrari and Red Bull in the opening races of the season, all hopes that wet conditions could help Mercedes were quickly dashed.
Both Russell and Hamilton struggled initially on wet tires, and there was little change in the intermediate, as the seven-time world champion finished ahead of only Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo and Nicholas Latifi’s Williams.
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Toto Wolff describes his disappointment when he sees Mercedes so far off the pace, but says he likes the challenge of fixing the problems.
Toto Wolff describes his disappointment when he sees Mercedes so far off the pace, but says he likes the challenge of fixing the problems.
The fact that the forecast for Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race is dry further complicates the situation for the Silver Arrows, who will have to transfer their qualification to many different conditions over the weekend.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1 that he was “not happy” with his team’s performance, but insisted he remained confident that their car would be good later in the season.
“There are nine seconds between the fastest and the last,” Wolff said. “It’s all about traction and temperature. Ferraris seem to have unlocked this thing and everyone else is almost everywhere.
Lewis Hamilton fights in training 1
“I thought it would happen [level the field]. The feedback we get from Louis and George is that there is literally zero traction. These gaps point to the tires.
“I think when you manage to unlock this problem, you will make the leap. There will be a lot of inconsistencies in terms of productivity. It’s not the car and it’s not the driver.
“Certainly, when you see your car hit about five seconds out of tempo, you want to choke. But I enjoy the challenge and I’m glad it’s bad – because we’ll be good in the long run.
“We need to warm up the tires and try to find a setting that puts them in faster and hopefully the smart guys can handle it. We’ve done it in the past.”
Emilia Romagna GP practice one-time schedule
Driver’s time 1) Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1: 29.402 2) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.877 3) Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.465 4) Kevin Magnussen Haas +3.037 5) Mick Schumacher Haas +3.586 6) + 3.Perez6) Red Bull Fernando Alonso Alpine +3,758 …
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