Category: Formula 1

Having struggled in all three practice sessions so far at the Emilia Romagna race, Verstappen hailed Red Bull’s pre-qualifying set-up changes for “feeling a bit better and I could push a bit”.

“This track is unbelievable,” Verstappen added. “And to be on the limit here, close to the gravel – I touched the gravel in the last corner – I’m still pumping. The adrenaline is very high.”

Verstappen needed late efforts to set his best times in the opening two parts of qualifying, but led from the off in Q3 – his first run a 1m14.869s ahead of Norris and Leclerc.

The Ferrari drivers then headed the pack on the final efforts, where Leclerc could not recover enough time from missing his personal best in the first sector and stayed third.

Behind, Verstappen blitzed to purple sectors in the first two thirds of the lap but a wobble through the final corner – Rivazza 2 – meant he was vulnerable even as he improved the top time to a 1m14.746s.

Norris also improved but paid the price for a slower middle sector than he had managed on his opening go in Q3, with Piastri then stealing ahead of his team-mate and Leclerc as he beat Verstappen in the final sector to end up 0.074s adrift.

But Piastri faces a post-session investigation for appearing to impede Magnussen late in Q1.

Behind the frontrunners came Carlos Sainz, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda, who had shone with a rapid Q2 time before fading from the lead fight.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Next came Lewis Hamilton in eighth, Daniel Ricciardo ninth and Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.

Verstappen topped Q2 ahead of Leclerc, where Sergio Perez was the biggest faller in the other Red Bull despite setting his best time at the end of the middle segment.

Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly were also eliminated at this stage.

In Q1, which Verstappen led also ahead of Leclerc when the Ferraris progressed on the mediums, last-gasp personal bests were not enough to save Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu in 16th-18th.

Magnussen ended up 19th ahead of Fernando Alonso, who missed the start of the opening segment as Aston Martin worked to repair the car he had damaged during his FP3 crash.

But the Spaniard abandoned his final effort as he failed to improve on his personal best late on having made a mistake and gone through the Tamburello exit gravel on his second attempt.

F1 Imola GP qualifying result

Since US-based Liberty Media took over F1 in 2017, it has made untapping the series’ potential in America one of its key priorities, adding races in Miami and Las Vegas to its existing grand prix in Austin.

In the wake of F1’s popularity boom, a vast number of American sponsors have flocked to the series, with HP the latest to jump on board with Ferrari.

Last year’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, which F1 promoted itself, also turned out to be huge commercial success, fuelling rumours that the series was keen on adding a fourth event in the country.

But Autosport understands that while F1 is keen to continue its growth in the US, it is happy with its current spread of races in the Americas. That also include popular events in Montreal, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.

Wild rumours of a new race in Chicago by 2026 have been firmly shot down.

Instead, the series is looking at the Far East as a market that is still underserved.

Mechanics make final preparations on the grid before the start

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

The Malaysian Grand Prix disappeared in 2017 to leave just Singapore, Japan and China on the calendar, while efforts to bring F1 to Vietnam didn’t come to fruition.

Thailand appears to be a contender for a new race in South East Asia following talks in April between prime minister Srettha Thavisin and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The Thai government is keen on a street race in Bangkok to boost tourism, with Thai-owned Red Bull understood to be a key player behind the scenes in making the race happen.

There have also been talks with the South Korean port city of Incheon about a return of F1 to the Korean peninsula from 2026 or 2027 onwards.

What F1’s Asian push means for the existing races

While interest in new events remains high worldwide, Domenicali has stressed he is not looking at expanding the schedule beyond the current number of 24 races, with a maximum number of 25 enshrined in commercial agreements.

“We currently believe a 24-race schedule is the optimal number of events,” Domenicali told Wall Street analysts earlier this month.

Expanding further in Imola to the Italian press, he added: “We are seeing a lot of interest from a lot of countries in Formula 1, and this obviously represents an opportunity for development. At the same time, it puts us under an obligation to make choices in terms of the calendar.

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We are seeing a growing interest in the Far East and the United States, but also a revival in Europe, most probably thanks to Madrid, which gave a shake-up just when everyone thought that nobody on the Old World was interested in doing something new.”

It looks clear that something will have to give, then, with several European races out of contract after 2025, including the Italian races at Imola and Monza as well as the Benelux pairing of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Despite Max Verstappen‘s immense popularity, rotating Zandvoort and Spa is still believed to be an option from 2026 onwards, even if Spa’s investments in its facilities and fan experience have given the latter a boost.

Monza is also investing in its ageing infrastructure, while Imola – which is reportedly still hoping to recover its cancelled 2023 edition in 2026 – still has a lot of catching up to do. Domenicali acknowledged it would be a challenge for both classic Italian venues to stay.

“Italy is central to the F1 calendar, but we need to address important issues related to the resources the country intends to invest and the infrastructure, because we need to change pace by improving the safety of the tracks and the services offered to the public,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“At the end of August, at Monza, we will take stock with government institutions and [Italian automobile federation] ACI. It is still possible that Italy will keep two races after 2026, but realistically I think it will be quite difficult.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Barcelona, which still has a contract until 2026, is also feeling the heat from F1’s new race in Madrid that will debut the same year.

A new-for-2024 fan event in the heart of the Catalan capital, including a demo run on its historic Paseo de Gracia, will go some way towards impressing F1, but people who have attended the race in recent years will argue Montmelo’s facilities are still stuck towards the rear of F1’s midfield.

The local authorities have recently greenlit a deal for event organiser Fira de Barcelona, which co-hosts the annual Mobile World Congress, to take over the circuit’s operations and make it less dependent on its motor racing activities alone.

The fight to remain on the calendar is not necessarily one between old and new or between traditional racing circuits and trendy street races, as has often been portrayed.

Instead, under Liberty Media the series has massively raised its standards in terms of what it expects from a modern F1 venue, including fan experience, circuit infrastructure, hotel capacity, transportation, hospitality and sustainability efforts.

That means the “Old World”, as Domenicali calls it, has needed to catch up with well-heeled events in the Middle East and the Americas, which is easier to do for venues that can boast generous government subsidies.

Start action

Photo by: Alfa Romeo

It is no coincidence that the well-backed Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, which is also investing heavily in a modernised paddock building and grandstands, has signed a contract extension until 2032 as one of the few European races to obtain long-term security.

Domenicali was very clear that venues need to buy into F1’s vision of what a grand prix should look like in 2024, or risk missing out.

“The work done on the Hungaroring circuit confirms that Formula 1’s movements are helping to raise the bar for facilities that had remained somewhat sedentary over the years,” he said.

“I say this in a very constructive way: if there is no will to invest, work and make projects together, even in the long term, there will be a risk of losing Formula 1.

“By the end of this year we will have some important choices to make.”

Perez’s late shunt at the Variante Alta led to a last-gasp scramble for drivers to set final qualifying simulation times, where only Lando Norris was able to set a representative time that put him second 0.3s slower than his team-mate.

A host of drivers failed to set a time in this late rush, including Max Verstappen, who now heads into qualifying without a proper sighter on the soft tyres, as he and Perez spent the early part of the session concentrating on their overnight set-up work on the medium tyres.

Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished third and fourth with the times they had set during a series of soft-tyre runs in the first third of the session.

Leclerc did attempt to set a late final flying time as he overtook several cars including Sainz with an aggressive out-lap as the clock ticked down.

But having got by Piastri and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly on the run to start his last lap, Leclerc’s opening sector was slower than his personal best and he backed off.

Piastri’s session-setting time – a 1m15.529s – came as the pack was preparing more typically for late fliers in the final 10 minutes, but Perez’s accident cut these efforts short and meant even if drivers had had more time to run properly again, they were all set to do so on used rubber, including Norris at the head of the pack.

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Perez lost his Red Bull’s rear as he bounced down to earth having whacked the kerbs at the Variante Alta’s first apex and his correction sent him off into the gravel and the barriers.

His medium tyre personal best meant he was shuffled down to 12th by those that did have time to improve pre-red flag one, which included George Russell nipping into fifth ahead of Verstappen in a session where both Mercedes cars complained of different ride problems.

The other stoppage came as the halfway stage approached when Alonso (18th in the final order) lost control of the rear of his car turning in from the kerbs between the Rivazza turns and spun off backwards into the barriers on the outside of the final corner.

F1 Imola GP: FP3 results

It could be interpreted as a depressing moment for drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell to feel that they need to tread water for a bit longer with a car that they know is not yet delivering what is hoped for.

But, on the other hand, Wolff’s statement suggests the team knows what has gone wrong and exactly what needs to be done to get it sorted. So, it is encouraging that the plan and timetable are in place.

From Hamilton’s perspective, the situation is much more the latter.

“I wouldn’t say it’s depressing – it’s just a patience game,” said Hamilton at Imola. “You are just making do with what you have, making the most of the tools that you have at your disposal today, tomorrow and this weekend. But it is really encouraging that we are seeing progress back in the factory and the wind tunnel.

“We do have new components coming and that’s always an exciting part of the processes: trying lots of different things and then finding out what works and what doesn’t. And the fact that we do have kind of a direction forwards, and we’ve tested it on the simulator, then you’re just like itching to get those bits.”

While there is no public confirmation about the timing of the Mercedes upgrades, it is understood that the plan is to have the full package in place for the Canadian Grand Prix next month – although parts could be brought forward to Monaco if they are ready in time.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, in the garage with Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team and Peter Bonnington, Senior Race Engineer, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

And the explanation for Hamilton’s hint at Mercedes having a “direction” is believed to refer to the team’s focus on curing one of the key weaknesses of the W15 that has been exposed this season.

The German manufacturer has been convinced that there is plenty of goodness in its 2024 challenger, but the difficulty has been in extracting all of it.

Around the time of the Saudi Arabian GP, it felt that the car was pretty competitive in low- and medium-speed corners, but was simply struggling in the high speed.

Attention focused on sorting out those high-speed problems but, in moving the performance parameters of its car to show better in that area, it found that its low-speed pace was compromised.

As Wolff said about the evidence from Suzuka, where the car had been brilliant through the Esses: “You gain half a second in the high speed, but you lose half a second in the low speed. The equation is back to zero.”

For Mercedes, the task – and the focus of the upgrades – has therefore been about addressing the weaknesses without robbing it of its strengths.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

It has been likened by someone within the team to the problem of sleeping in a cold room with too small a duvet. If you keep your body warm, then your feet get exposed – but move the duvet to keep your toes toasty then you suffer elsewhere. Mercedes’ task is in making a bigger duvet so everything is under the covers.

Mercedes is certainly not alone in dealing with this problem, because it is something that every team is facing.

As Ferrari’s Jock Clear said: “We’re always looking to close that gap. Closing that gap is just closing the balance window – giving the car a very consistent balance, high speed and low speed, so they [the drivers] know what they’re going to get.

“When these cars were launched 18 months ago, they were a bit messy. Some speeds they were really, really good, other speeds they were like, ‘oh my God, this car is terrible.’ And we’re all narrowing that balance shift or that balance window.”

After many false dawns for Mercedes in the current ground effect era, the team is taking nothing for granted that its latest upgrade focus is guaranteed to deliver it the pace needed to match Red Bull.

But for technical director James Allison, there is a clear sense it is finally moving in the right direction, and it can overcome its small duvet issue.

James Allison, Technical Director, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, in the Team Principals Press Conference

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“I think we’re gradually getting there,” he said. “This track is probably one of the easier ones in that regard because the range of cornering speed is not that high.

“It’s a thing that all of us face and I think we’ve been a little slower than others to address it. But I think that you’ll see over the coming races that that will be a thing that increasingly we put to bed.”

Aston consolidated its spot at the top of the midfield but has so far generally been fifth fastest, some way behind fourth-placed team Mercedes.

It hasn’t scaled the heights of its early 2023 run of podiums yet, and instead saw its performance levels fluctuate between various circuit conditions, with a curious discrepancy between qualifying and race performance.

Fernando Alonso in particular has often outperformed the car’s natural position in qualifying before falling back to the team’s usual spot in the pecking order in race trim.

Technical director Dan Fallows explained that the team has identified why the car has worked better on some circuits than others, and that the team is now cashing in on a lot of that knowledge with its major Imola update, which includes a floor redesign and a new front wing and diffuser.

“The majority of this update has been based on what we saw from the launch car, from the car in testing, and then how we want to sort of evolve that,” Fallows said.

“We’ve seen some circuits suit us better than others and that’s something we focused on trying to make sure we can perform everywhere.

“We have an era of ground-effect cars that have specific windows of performance and you’re always trying to sort of broaden that.

Aston Martin AMR24 rear detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

“So, you want to make sure when you bring an update that it does perform in all the different conditions.”

Only Alonso sampled the package in FP1 so the team could perform a back-to-back evaluation of the new and old spec. After the break the new items were also bolted onto Lance Stroll‘s machine for FP2.

The pair finished second practice 10th and 13th respectively, around a second off leader Charles Leclerc.

Aston was the surprise package of the first half of the 2023 season, but gradually slipped backwards to fifth place as it struggled to keep up its in-season development rate.

Fallows says a lot of the knowledge of those failings have been taken on board for what he has called “quite an aggressive” upgrade programme.

“We’ve realised where we can push things harder than we could before and some things we have to be a bit more careful of,” he explained.

“It’s been a learning experience and I think we have a bit more confidence now that these upgrades do work.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“It is quite aggressive. We knew we had a car that we have a lot of opportunities with at the beginning of the season, we wanted to make sure we had continual upgrades coming through.

“This is probably our biggest one to date. But it’s just part of our plan and we want to keep going with this in the next few races as well.”

Twice this season, in Saudi Arabia and Miami, Magnussen has acted as rear-gunner for his Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in holding up rivals behind him – even if it has meant running wide on occasion.

In Miami, his antics earned him three 10-second penalties for leaving the track and gaining an advantage – as well as penalty points that have left him on the verge of a race ban.

The Dane was subsequently investigated, and cleared, of potential unsportsmanlike behaviour for what he did – although rivals like McLaren’s Andrea Stella felt his actions were worthy of a ban.

As part of the stewards’ explanation in Miami for what Magnussen did, they suggested there should be a potential change to the rules that would allow penalties to be escalated in the case of repeat offenders.

The stewards wrote: “Moving forward, the stewards will need to consider if, in appropriate situations, especially in the case of repeat infringements, the penalties to be applied for each infringement need to be increased to discourage scenarios such as those that we found today.

“This is something that we will raise explicitly with the FIA and the stewarding team.”

Autosport has learned that, in response to the stewards’ request, the matter was discussed in the team manager’s meeting at the Imola Grand Prix to understand if there was a consensus to get a rule change in place.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

It was agreed that it should be looked at, but not rushed in to force in case it triggered unintended consequences.

Instead, the matter will be put on the agenda for the next meeting of F1’s Sporting Advisory Committee which discusses rule changes to debate and evaluate such matters.

In the meantime, it is understood that the FIA stewards have been encouraged to make use of the possibility to hand out drive-through penalties, rather than the standard 10-second time penalty, for situations where drivers have gained a position unfairly.

Speaking at Imola earlier in the weekend, Magnussen felt a better solution would be for race control to tell drivers to give their positions back.

“The best thing would be for the FIA to tell us to give back positions, and then the consequence for not doing that being harsh,” he explained.

“Like, really harsh – so you make sure that that’s being done. Because I think it firstly gets too complicated and also too big a consequence for [that infraction]. You have to be able to leave a little bit of room to go over the limit and then come back from that.

“Whereas now, if they judge it to be an unfair advantage and it’s a drive-through penalty, I think that’s not good.”

It is understood that such ordering of the reversal of positions is not being considered.

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 time Oscar Piastri settled into second place, just under two tenths shy of Leclerc.

Leclerc and many others flirted with the gravel traps across the Friday practice sessions

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

But the two would have likely been overshadowed by Miami winner Lando Norris, had the Briton completed his sole flyer on the softs; according to GPS data, Norris was tracking at over half-a-second faster than Leclerc’s benchmark before overcooking it completely at Rivazza. Too much kerb midway through the double left-hander preceded a brush with the gravel on the exit, prompting a hasty retreat to the pits.

Verstappen, meanwhile, could do no better than fifth and seventh in the two Friday practice sessions. The championship leader appeared to spend more time in the gravel than out of it, having struggled with inconsistent balance throughout the sessions and unable to dial himself into the demands of the tight and undulating Imola course.

Jock Clear revealed Ferrari’s upgrades aimed at “tilting the map” of the car’s performance: in other words, enhancing its performance in areas where the SF-24 is weaker – lower-speed corners – while retaining its prowess in the higher-speed areas

The nature of the circuit also produced much in the way of traffic, and thus the lap times must be taken with a pinch of salt – but it’s inevitable that impeding calls will play a part in qualifying regardless of run-plans on Saturday afternoon.

Ferrari leads the line with new upgrades

A roar carried through the crowds like an audible Mexican wave as a Ferrari drove past the stands into Acque Minerali. It didn’t matter if it was Leclerc or Sainz that had entered into view: the simple presence of red induced an almost Pavlovian reaction from the fans.

The Prancing Horse had pinned its hopes on a vast new upgrade package for Imola, one that it had given cursory mileage in a Fiorano filming day. Overbite sidepod inlets were the main visual hallmark for those wishing to draw comparisons to Red Bull, but this was supplemented by changes to the front and rear wings, engine cover bodywork, and the floor and diffuser. The team’s senior performance engineer Jock Clear revealed on Friday that these were aimed at “tilting the map” of the car’s performance: in other words, enhancing its performance in areas where the SF-24 is weaker – lower-speed corners – while retaining its prowess in the higher-speed areas.

No prizes for guessing who the home favourites are at Imola

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Imola’s corner profiles tend towards the slow-medium end of the spectrum, so it’s a perfect venue to determine whether the updates had worked at the ‘bottom-end’ of performance. Exploring the GPS data, Leclerc appeared to carry more speed into the tight Tosa corner compared to both Verstappen and Norris, although Piastri briefly gained time over the Ferrari thanks to staying on the throttle a touch later. That said, Leclerc found time on the exit of the corner and the run to Piratella, as Piastri only picked up the throttle again when Leclerc was at about 50% on the pedal.

Leclerc carried some throttle through Acque Minerali and the Variante Alta chicanes, ensuring the Ferrari could keep the revs up in fourth gear across both corners; Piastri dropped to third in both by swapping the throttle in its entirety for the brake pedal to maintain the engine speed.

Comparing Leclerc’s best lap in FP2 to that his team-mate Sainz, it appears that the Monegasque trails slightly during the cornering phases around the lap, but he has traded this for stronger exits – although Sainz was unable to collect a clean second flying lap to truly indicate Ferrari’s pace.

McLaren’s outright pace masked by Norris off

Had Norris not dipped a wheel at the exit of Rivazza, he might have hurled his McLaren to the top of the charts in FP2. The Briton carried more speed over the straights compared to Leclerc’s Ferrari, and was over 0.4s up on what would be the fastest lap when he’d stepped on the anchors for the final corner. He arguably carried too much speed into the corner, his delta now up by 0.7s over Leclerc in the transition between the two left-handers, but this carried him wide and prompted him to abort his lap.

The McLaren clearly has competitive one-lap pace, but it’s the long run pace that counts. Norris’ misstep was quickly turned around by the team, and it sent him on his way for a 15-lap long run on the medium. Although Ferrari appears ahead of McLaren in the overall average pace table (below), there are a number of key areas that suggests McLaren could factor ahead of the Italian squad.

Average FP2 medium tyre runs

Norris’ run, firstly, was longer overall and thus can be depended upon for a larger data set. Furthermore, far fewer outliers had to be removed from the Briton’s run; Leclerc had two laps that were removed from his average to account for traffic and other errors that were not representative of overall race pace. Norris, however, was able to prove over his stint that McLaren’s pace was altogether repeatable throughout the stint.

While Norris didn’t standout on the outright lap times, his and McLaren’s pace is clear to see

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

In other words, Ferrari had the prestige of headlining both of Friday’s sessions – but McLaren’s outright pace in both qualifying and race trim should be stronger when it comes to the sessions that matter.

“Really bad” Red Bull struggling for balance

Verstappen’s gravel-tousling antics underlined the difficulties that Red Bull faced on its opening day of running at Imola. The RB20 seemed to struggle particularly with how it pressed the soft tyre into service; Verstappen reported that the front tyres would “suddenly grip up a lot, and I almost spin”, denoting the work that the team needs to do overnight to ensure he has the requisite balance for qualifying.

In the longer runs on medium tyres, Perez’s overall pace was a smidgen faster than Verstappen’s and with fewer off moments, and thus was more representative to include in the averages once outliers were removed. On that basis, it stacks up as the fourth-fastest package once the music stopped on Friday as Mercedes had a solid day – if one forgets Lewis Hamilton‘s role as traffic creator throughout FP2.

“It was tricky to get a good balance and we were not really feeling comfortable within the car. It was moving around a lot and was very easy to lose the car at some points on the track” Max Verstappen

“It’s very easy to lose the car, so we have a few things that we have to look at because today definitely…. just bad, just not comfortable,” Verstappen bemoaned. “Also the long run was really bad, so definitely a few things that we have to improve if we want to be competitive tomorrow. Today we were just severely off the pace that we need to fix.”

Where Red Bull fell down in one-lap pace appeared to coalesce in the final sector; comparing Hamilton and Verstappen’s best laps, the RB20 had a clear advantage in the opening sector. But, after the Acque Minerali exit, Verstappen’s pace was far more variable. The corner exit from Variante Alta was solid, but Hamilton gathered more speed on the run to Rivazza and claimed the better exit from the final double-left – a corner where Verstappen notably struggled to find a rhythm.

A series of upgrades for the RB20 focused largely on the front wing and floor, but the jury’s currently out on them as Red Bull couldn’t encounter a decent set-up on Friday. For the simulator drivers on call at Milton Keynes, expect them to burn the midnight oil to find a fix in time for Saturday’s final practice session.

Red Bull is relying on its simulator drivers to find overnight set-up fixes

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

What they said

Charles Leclerc: “It has been a positive day overall. Everything went smoothly and we ran all the tests we planned on track. We seem to be pretty competitive for now, however the conditions will change quite a bit tomorrow, especially in terms of the wind, so we will have to anticipate that.”

Lando Norris: “It’s been a reasonable day, if a little bit disrupted in places. We had a test programme with some things to try after our upgrades in Miami, which was important to fit in. But at the same time, we had to deal with a couple of little issues here and there which made completing our plan a little bit more tricky than we were hoping for. However, the car felt good, I think we made some good improvements through the day and I was happy with that. Another few into tomorrow and I think we can have a good day.”

Max Verstappen: “It was a difficult day today. It was tricky to get a good balance and we were not really feeling comfortable within the car. It was moving around a lot and was very easy to lose the car at some points on the track. There are a few things we have to look at after today as our performance wasn’t as good as expected and we were not comfortable.”

Who will come out on top at Imola?

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The Monegasque driver topped both practice sessions at Imola, edging McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.192s in the second session, on a strong day for Ferrari following the arrival of its upgrade package.

Yuki Tsunoda impressed in FP2 by shooting up to third place for RB, ahead of both Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, with Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari in sixth.

It was a tough day for world champions Red Bull with Max Verstappen suffering multiple off-track moments and fading to seventh, just ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in eighth.

Miami GP winner Lando Norris bailed out of his qualifying simulation lap to see him drop to 12th for McLaren in FP2.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

What time does qualifying start for the F1 Imola Grand Prix?

Qualifying for the Imola GP starts at 4pm local time (3pm BST), using the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.

Date: Saturday 18 May 2024
Start time: 4pm local time – 3pm BST

How can I watch Formula 1?

In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is broadcast live on Sky Sports, except for the British GP which is shown live on both Sky Sports and Channel 4, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.

Sky Sports F1, which broadcasts the F1 races, can be added as part of the Sky Sports channels which costs £18 a month for new customers. Sky Sports can also be accessed through NOW with a one-off day payment of £11.99p or a month membership of £34.99p per month.

How can I watch F1 Imola GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom every F1 practice, qualifying and race is broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with Imola GP qualifying coverage starting at 2:10pm BST on Sky Sports F1.

Channel: Sky Sports F1
Start time: 2:10pm BST 18 May 2024

Autosport will be running a live text coverage of qualifying here.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

When can I watch the highlights of F1 Imola GP qualifying?

In the United Kingdom Channel 4 is broadcasting highlights of qualifying for the Imola GP at 7:30pm BST on Saturday night. The full programme will run for 90 minutes, covering both qualifying and wrapping up the major talking points of the race weekend so far.

For the entire 2024 F1 season, Channel 4 will broadcast highlights of every qualifying and race of each event. The highlights will also be available on Channel 4’s on demand catch up services.

Channel: Channel 4
Start time: 7:30pm BST 18 May 2024

Will F1 Imola GP qualifying be on the radio?

Live radio coverage of every practice, qualifying and race for the 2024 F1 season will be available on the BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Live Sports Extra or via the BBC Sport website.

Coverage of Imola GP qualifying will start at 3:00pm BST on the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sounds app.

What’s the weather forecast for qualifying in Imola?

Dry and sunny conditions are forecast for Saturday afternoon for the start of qualifying in Imola. The temperature is set to be 24 degrees Celsius at the start of qualifying, with a very small chance of rain and low winds.

FP2 results

FP1 results

Verstappen’s frustration boiled over throughout both practice sessions as his upgraded Red Bull RB20 proved hard to control on the technical Italian venue’s second sector.

The triple world champion ended first practice in fifth and slipped to seventh in the second, over half a second behind Ferrari’s pacesetter Charles Leclerc. His team-mate Sergio Perez was next up in eighth another tenth behind the Dutchman.

Verstappen frequently vented his frustration over the RB20’s recalcitrant behaviour and unpredictable balance on the team radio.

After the session, he feared Red Bull was too slow despite the new upgrades, which include an all-new front wing, a revised floor and rear bodywork tweaks.

“A difficult day. Just difficult to get a good balance and just not really feeling comfortable in the car, moving around a lot,” Verstappen told F1 TV.

“It’s very easy to lose the car, so we have a few things that we have to look at because today definitely…. just bad, just not comfortable.

“Also the long run was really bad, so definitely a few things that we have to improve if we want to be competitive tomorrow.

“Today we were just severely off the pace that we need to fix.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Asked if he had confidence the team would be able to turn it around for Saturday, he quipped: “I guess it can’t be worse than what we had today, right?

“We’ll look at a few things that we can do better for tomorrow. But yeah, it looks a bit like the others took a bit of a step forward. And from our side just a bad day.”

Verstappen’s ire was also drawn by Lewis Hamilton, who impeded him through the Villeneuve chicane before Tosa. That led to Verstappen furiously gesticulating to the Briton as he pulled up alongside the Mercedes.

“It’s not the first time,” Verstappen said about Hamilton blocking him. “You try to, of course, always stay calm about it. But yeah, it happened again.

“But at the other end, I don’t want to really talk about it too much, because that’s not our issue today.”

Leclerc continued as the frontrunner through the early stages of the day’s second 60-minute session, after he had also led Friday afternoon’s FP1 action, when the cars were split across the medium and hard tyres.

When they switched to the softs for the mid-session qualifying simulation runs, Leclerc set the best time benchmark at 1m15.969s, before using a second set of the red-walled rubber to blast to a session-topping 1m15.906s.

McLaren might have headed Ferrari as Lando Norris’s sole soft tyre flier started with a pair of purple sectors before he ran too wide out of the two downhill Rivazza corners.

When Norris dipped his right-side wheels into the gravel on the exit of the second turn, he stamped on the brakes and abandoned his lap in the pits from which he only returned later on to complete the high-fuel running that typically concludes FP2 action.

Oscar Piastri was able to get to 0.192s back from Leclerc on his qualifying simulation effort, with Yuki Tsunoda starring for RB as he slotted into third.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell improved with their second softs laps to move into fourth and fifth – bumping Carlos Sainz down in the other Ferrari as he had had an off-track moment at the Variante Alta on his second flying lap.

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Around all of this, Verstappen posted a first softs flier that put him 0.541s on Leclerc’s eventual best time – the world champion again struggling significantly in the middle sector, where he had been off-track in FP2.

Then, when he and team-mate Sergio Perez (eighth behind Verstappen’s final position of seventh) attempted a second qualifying simulation run, Verstappen came across Hamilton touring slowly through the Villeneuve chicane and angrily aborted his run.

When Verstappen cut across the Mercedes’ bow to show his fury – Hamilton offering a hand up in apology from his cockpit – Perez was bearing down on the pair on the approach to Tosa and so he too backed off.

Verstappen then later had an off-track moment through the gravel between the Rivazzas as he completed his high-fuel running.

Norris’s lack of completed softs run meant he finished down in 12th, behind Daniel Ricciardo in the other RB.

F1 Imola GP: FP2 results