After the opening series of pan-continental flyaway rounds, the Formula 1 circus returned to its European heartland and descended upon Imola.
One of F1’s returning classics after a lengthy spell away, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari took a rather popular step back in time.
The scourge of vast and forgiving run-off had largely been eradicated by the welcome sight of grass and gravel, which had sprouted in F1’s two-year hiatus from the venue; last year’s flooding in the Emilia Romagna region had prompted the cancellation of the 2023 event.
As is customary for the start of the European season, there were also plenty of upgrades that the teams wished to explore – the logistical hurdles much less reduced. The first ‘conventional’ weekend format since the Japanese Grand Prix meant that upgrades could be tested back-to-back in FP1 and their impact dissected for FP2.
So, how’s everybody looking? A Red Bull rampage looks slightly less inevitable at this stage, and instead the Friday running was headlined by home favourites Ferrari – with Miami victors McLaren not far behind in the pecking order. As ever, there’s more to the Friday practice cut-and-thrust than just the timesheets.
Let’s dig into the numbers and the data that emerged from the first two weekend sessions.
The story of the day
Charles Leclerc enthralled the tifosi in attendance with a Friday practice clean sweep, topping both sessions to complete an impressive day for Ferrari. The Monegasque headlined a red flag-interrupted FP1 with a 1m16.990s, a tenth faster than Mercedes’ George Russell in the first of the two afternoon sessions.
The session had been paused by Alex Albon’s Williams shutting down after a hefty kerb strike at Acque Minerali, an electrical issue causing him to park up on the grass just after the corner exit. Leclerc’s headliner came shortly after green flag running resumed on soft tyres, while Russell nudged ahead of Carlos Sainz by a scant 0.026s.
A 1m15.906s placed Leclerc at the pinnacle of FP2’s ultimate order as Ferrari appeared to get into a competitive cadence from the start of the weekend. He had already sat atop the order on the early medium-tyre runs, a whisker ahead of Max Verstappen, but a gap began to appear between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers when it came to the C5 running.
Once the mid-session soft tyre runs began, Leclerc set the pace with a 1m15.969s lap and, on another run, escalated his pace after finding another 0.063s. This…
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