F1 Imola GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
Friday's action from the seventh round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
F1 returns to Imola having cancelled last year's event following extensive flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region.
Teams and drivers will be able to relax somewhat this weekend, with the schedule reverting back to a normal format after two sprint weekends in China and Miami - the latter of which saw a new grand prix winner in McLaren's Lando Norris.
FP1 starts at 12:30am BST (13:30am local time) followed by FP2 at 4:00pm BST (5:00pm local time).
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In case you missed it earlier, FP1 had a red flag interruption as Albon's Williams came to a halt.
After back-to-back sprint race weekends in China and Miami, the usual format is back with second practice on a Friday afternoon. We've not done this since 5 April at the Japanese GP. Let's hope the drivers remember how to do long runs.
Hello again! It is nearly time for sprint qua- FP2... it has been a while since we've had this session.
That will be that for now, thank you for joining our coverage of FP1. We will be back in just over two hours for FP2.
Bye for now!
Bye for now!
Penalty
Note from the stewards: Perez has been fined €1,000 for speeding in the pits.
The Red Bull clocked 89.8km/h, with the limit set to 80km/h.
The Red Bull clocked 89.8km/h, with the limit set to 80km/h.
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Bearman was very impressive for Haas, as his engineer intimated.
Tsunoda shined for RB to finish sixth, ahead of Hamilton, with Norris, Piastri and Alonso completing the top 10.
Checkered flag
That's FP1 over!
Leclerc the only driver into the 1m16s as he leads Russell and Sainz.
The story of the session though is Verstappen's struggles in the Red Bull.
Leclerc the only driver into the 1m16s as he leads Russell and Sainz.
The story of the session though is Verstappen's struggles in the Red Bull.
The car bottoms and just doesn't turn for him. He runs straight into the gravel, though continues. But nothing he could do about that.
Verstappen again goes fastest in the first sector but again makes a mistake.
That's Turn 11, Acque Minerali, the very corner he complained about earlier.
That's Turn 11, Acque Minerali, the very corner he complained about earlier.
A minute to go and Norris comes across the line to improve to eighth.
That's faster than Piastri but 0.612s down on Leclerc.
That's faster than Piastri but 0.612s down on Leclerc.
Quote
Bearman team radio: "The lack of info is because we think you are doing a good job mate."
No news is good news.
No news is good news.
Less than five minutes to go and Alonso jumps up the order to slot into ninth.
Replays show how well Verstappen did not to spin around. Full opposite lock made him look more like a rally driver than an F1 driver.
The Dutchman goes again though and finds time in sector one to go purple again. But a HUGE swap at the Variante Alta forces him across the grass.
Quote
Verstappen team radio: "That Turn 11 is a disaster, I have no grip there."
He is not happy.
He is not happy.
Gasly has gone slightly under the radar to get up to ninth for Alpine. The French outfit is making small steps in the right direction after an awful start to the year.
Leclerc is back out on track on hards - as are a number of his rivals. There are plenty on mediums as well, indicating higher-fuel running will dominate the last 10 minutes.
Make that fifth as team-mate Perez goes faster and into fourth. Both are within a quarter of a second of Leclerc's best effort.
Verstappen looks like he is on it - a purple first sector, a PB in the middle of the lap and a purple in S3 is good enough for fourth only.
A quarter of the session to go and there's a small lull in the action.
Both Red Bulls, Stroll, Bearman and Zhou are the only cars on track.
Both Red Bulls, Stroll, Bearman and Zhou are the only cars on track.
Quote
Verstappen: "My tear-off has gone into the brake duct."
He passes through the pits, gets it removed and gets back out on track.
He passes through the pits, gets it removed and gets back out on track.
It's worth pointing out that a lot of teams will be using this as a test session for the new parts and that the timing screens should not be trusted 100%.
Data suggests Mercedes is the fastest through medium-speed corners in this session. Again, it's early in the weekend. But if that is true, then the team will be mighty happy with the new parts.
Yellow flag
A brief yellow flag is flown for a Mercedes pointing the wrong way.
It's Hamilton, who has rotated after clipping the kerb on the inside of Acque Minerali. A quick spin back around sees him back on his way.
It's Hamilton, who has rotated after clipping the kerb on the inside of Acque Minerali. A quick spin back around sees him back on his way.
Stopwatch
Leclerc sets a PB in the first sector and goes purple in the second. He goes fastest with a 1m16.990.
Just a touch over 23 minutes to go and both Red Bulls and both McLarens are in the pits.
Sainz was trying to find time but got the entry to the Variante Alta all wrong and has to cut across the grass.
Sainz was trying to find time but got the entry to the Variante Alta all wrong and has to cut across the grass.
Stopwatch
Sainz had gone fastest a short while ago but Russell goes fastest again.
How well are those upgrades going to help Mercedes this weekend? This is at least a positive sign, even if this is early in the event.
How well are those upgrades going to help Mercedes this weekend? This is at least a positive sign, even if this is early in the event.
Norris has complained about issues before returning to the pits.
"Just look at the data. It all cut out, it's back now."
"Just look at the data. It all cut out, it's back now."
Tsunoda may have dipped a wheel into the gravel at Rivazza but Riccardo has gone one - or three - further, going deep into the trap before escaping.
Hamilton goes third with his soft tyre run, three-tenths faster than Russell.
The Mercedes drivers are split by Tsunoda, who is having a fine session so far - minus the wheel onto the gravel.
The Mercedes drivers are split by Tsunoda, who is having a fine session so far - minus the wheel onto the gravel.
Williams: "Alex's car shut down after going over a kerb. The cause is currently unknown and will be investigated when the car is back."
Stroll has popped into the top 10 for Aston Martin on the softs as Russell catches a huge slide at Tamburello.
That was almost a carbon copy of Bearman's F2 crash earlier today.
That was almost a carbon copy of Bearman's F2 crash earlier today.
Stopwatch
It was a full-performance run from Leclerc, also on softs, as the Ferrari sets the pace with a 1m17.438 - half a second faster than anything pre-red flags.
The rakes have come off Norris' McLaren and now he is on the softs.
This is unlikely to be a full-performance run, given the lashings of flow-vis paint on the right-front suspension.
This is unlikely to be a full-performance run, given the lashings of flow-vis paint on the right-front suspension.
Gasly has just told his Alpine team that this is the "worst ride" he has had all year.
The track surface and the bumps are causing some issues in the first half of the session.
The track surface and the bumps are causing some issues in the first half of the session.
Green flag
We are back underway, with Norris the first to hit the track.
By: Autosport Staff
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