F1 News: Leclerc tops Practice 2 at Imola, Red Bull Struggles

Charles Leclerc made it a clean sweep of both Friday Practice Sessions at Imola in his #16 Ferrari, sending the Tifosi home very happy, and the good news for the Tifosi is that the Ferrari looked quick on the longer runs too.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Leclerc turned a fast lap of 1m15.906s, 0.192s faster than the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

Yuki Tsunoda was a sensational third in his VCARB RB, 0.38s behind Leclerc, and yes fuel loads are an unknown, but he’s been quick over one lap all season long.

Lewis Hamilton was 4th quick for Mercedes, 0.391s behind Leclerc.

George Russell made it a Mercedes 4-5 with the 5th best time, 0.405s behind Leclerc.

Max Verstappen was only 7th fastest, very unhappy with his Red Bull, both in qualifying setup and race pace. He said it was easy to lose control of the car.

The Dutchman led from fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez in 8th

Hulkenberg was the lead Haas in ninth despite his slow start to the hour, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in 10th, while Daniel Ricciardo went 11th fastest in the RB and McLaren’s Lando Norris followed in 12th.

Don’t count out Lando Norris for pole. He was down in 12th but focussed on long runs with heavy fuel.

Valtteri Bottas was P16 for Kick Sauber, while Kevin Magnussen went P17 after sitting out FP1 to allow Oliver Bearman to run in his Haas. Albon and Sargeant ended a tough day for Williams in P18 and P20, with the Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu sandwiched between them in P19. Sargeant had a heavier Williams as only Albon’s car was fitted with new lightweight components.

Saturday morning will be the final practice session, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Will Leclerc keep his nose in front, and send the Ferrari fans wild? What can Tsunoda do at his team’s home race? And will Verstappen get any sort of a handle on his car?

Emilia Romagna GP Practice 2 Results