Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the times in a wet first practice session in Imola ahead of Friday evening’s qualifying session.
The leading Ferrari was almost a second and a half faster than Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, with the two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher three seconds off Leclerc’s pace in fourth and fifth.
After Formula 3’s first practice session was repeatedly disrupted by red flag stoppages in the rain and the Formula 2 practice session never started due to the wet conditions, the track was still soaked by the time Formula 1 cars ventured out onto the Imola circuit for the first time. But with no rain falling by the team the green light appeared at the end of the pit lane, teams did not hesitate to take to the treacherous track on full wet tyres.
As expected, the slippery surface offered minimal grip. Nicholas Latifi ran off the track at the Tosa corner, but managed to re-join the track with minimal damage. Leclerc spun twice in the first 20 minutes of the session, first after clattering the kerbs at the Variante Alta chicane and later while exiting Acque Minerale.
The tricky downhill braking zone for the first Rivazza proved a danger zone for many drivers. Sebastian Vettel almost ran off the circuit through the first left-hander, before Lando Norris slipped off into the gravel, bailing out back into the pit lane after rejoining the circuit. Esteban Ocon had a high-speed off into the Rivazza, but fortunately managed to avoid getting beached into the gravel trap.
Just before half way through the session, Vettel became the first driver to take to the track on intermediates, setting a lap time that was just over six tenths slower than Sergio Perez’s overall best time set on full wets.
As the session continued, it became clear the track offered more lap time for those on intermediate tyres. Despite having a third spin of the session exiting the Tamburello chicane, Leclerc went fastest of all and continued to go…