Until the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, Charles Leclerc maintained his dominance at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in the second practice session. This session painted a bleak picture for Red Bull, the current dominator of Formula 1. Despite being the world champion and current points leader, Max Verstappen only managed the seventh fastest time, with his teammate Sergio Perez just behind. Both drivers were over half a second slower than Leclerc’s impressive lap.
Verstappen expressed his frustration over the radio after his final attempt at a qualifying simulation. He exclaimed, “s***, my God” and described how difficult everything was. He struggled with the front grip of his car, almost spinning out. Perez, on the other hand, showed promising pace during his first long run, keeping up with the McLarens and Leclerc’s Ferrari. However, Verstappen struggled to break the 1m21s barrier and even had a moment in the gravel, his third off-track excursion of the day.
The day belonged to Leclerc, who not only set the fastest time in the first practice session but also topped the charts in the second session, beating his competitors by 0.192 seconds, with a lap time of 1m15.906s. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was his closest challenger, followed by the surprising Yuki Tsunoda in third place, showcasing his impressive pace on a single lap at Imola.
While Tsunoda’s pace did not translate as well in the long race simulations, Piastri’s performance was consistent and matched Leclerc’s times. Both drivers showcased their skills on the hard tires provided by Pirelli for this weekend’s race. Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate, ended FP2 with the fastest middle sector, but a small mistake in the gravel cost him a representative lap time, resulting in a 12th place finish. However, his pace was evident during the long race, starting slightly faster than Piastri.
Leclerc, along with Perez, was summoned to see the race stewards regarding an obstruction incident caused by Perez at the end of the session. Initially, Leclerc was slower than the McLarens during his simulation, but he managed to improve and set a time of 1m20.023s, about two tenths faster than Piastri and Norris. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed a positive FP2 for Mercedes, finishing among the top five, four tenths behind the fastest pace.
Carlos Sainz, driving the second Ferrari, had a discreet performance, finishing in sixth place, over half a second slower than Leclerc. Nico Hulkenberg of Haas and Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin completed the top 10, behind the two Red Bulls.
