Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton Tops Only Imola Free Practice Ahead of Max Verstappen

3 Mins read
Credit: LAT Images

Defending champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the one and only free practice session of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari weekend.

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer set a best time of 1:14.726 to top the session ahead of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas third.  The top three were separated by 0.492 seconds.

Formula 1 has made a welcome return to Imola after a fourteen-year absence, and conditions were ideal when the green light illuminated to get the session underway. It was a very busy start with nineteen of the twenty drivers coming out in the opening moments, with George Russell the last of those to join the track in his Williams Racing FW43.

The early laps were used to learn the track, with the majority of the drivers not having driven the circuit in Formula 1 machinery before.  Only Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda drivers Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat had experienced the track in 2020 machinery before, with the team having used one of its filming days to run both drivers in the AT01 back in June.

It became clear that track limits were an issue, with the majority of drivers having lap times deleted for running too wide at either turn nine or turn fifteen.  Alexander Albon was one of those who had multiple lap times deleted, with the Thai driver criticising the decision to use the white line as the track boundary rather than the kerbing.

It appeared Verstappen was going to be the man to beat during the session as he regularly set purple sector times, but Hamilton pulled a lap out of the bag to beat the Dutchman by just under three-tenths of a second.

Bottas in third made a few mistakes during the session, locking up his brakes on his first flying lap and running tyres through the gravel trap on the exit of the final turn on a number of occasions.

Gasly, free from the announcement of him being retained by AlphaTauri for 2021, was an impressive fourth after a late quick lap from the Frenchman, while another late lap saw Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc jump up to fifth ahead of the two Renault DP World F1 Team drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon.

Despite complaining late in the session of something being loose in his cockpit, Kvyat was eight to round out a good session for AlphaTauri, with Albon down in ninth in the second Red Bull, 1.335 seconds off of Hamilton’s best and more than a second away from team-mate Verstappen.

The two BWT Racing Point Formula One Team drivers were tenth and eleventh, Lance Stroll ahead of Sergio Pérez, while the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel ended twelfth.  Vettel had been bottom of the timing screens of most of the session before a couple of quick laps in the final five minutes moved him up the order.  However, he will have his work cut out if he is to make it through to Q3 later this afternoon.

Romain Grosjean, who announced last week he would be leaving the Haas F1 Team at the end of 2021, ended thirteenth fastest ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. in the leading McLaren F1 Team entry.  Sainz and his team-mate Lando Norris (sixteenth) both set faster times that were ultimately deleted due to track limits.  Both McLaren drivers will have the belief that they have the pace to make it into Q3 in Qualifying.

In between the McLaren’s was the leading Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN entry of Antonio Giovinazzi, with the only Italian on the grid ending just over a tenth of a second and two places ahead of team-mate Kimi Räikkönen.  Both drivers will be relaxed knowing their future with the team is confirmed after Alfa Romeo announced an unchanged driver line-up for 2021 on Friday.

Russell ended eighteenth in his Williams ahead of the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, while Nicholas Latifi’s session was affected by a brake-by-wire issue in the second Williams.  This left him stuck in the pit lane for the majority of the session and left him down at the back of the field.

Qualifying will start in just two hours-time, and it appears it will be a battle between Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas for pole position.  Mercedes have taken pole in every race so far in 2020, so Verstappen will have it all to do to break that run at Imola.

Pos#DriverNat.TeamTime  Laps
144Lewis HamiltonGBRMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:14.726  45
233Max VerstappenNEDAston Martin Red Bull Racing1:15.023  38
377Valtteri BottasFINMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:15.218  46
410Pierre GaslyFRAScuderia AlphaTauri Honda1:15.633  45
516Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari1:15.688  39
63Daniel RicciardoAUSRenault DP World F1 Team1:15.839  31
731Esteban OconFRARenault DP World F1 Team1:15.945  43
826Daniil KvyatRUSScuderia AlphaTauri Honda1:15.966  46
923Alexander AlbonTHAAston Martin Red Bull Racing1:16.061  40
1018Lance StrollCANBWT Racing Point Formula One Team1:16.082  41
1111Sergio PérezMEXBWT Racing Point Formula One Team1:16.109  41
125Sebastian VettelGERScuderia Ferrari1:16.167  39
138Romain GrosjeanFRAHaas F1 Team1:16.550  41
1455Carlos Sainz Jr.ESPMcLaren F1 Team1:16.560  41
1599Antonio GiovinazziITAAlfa Romeo Racing1:16.564  32
164Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1:16.671  44
177Kimi RäikkönenFINAlfa Romeo Racing1:16.684  42
1863George RussellGBRWilliams Racing1:16.780  42
1920Kevin MagnussenDENHaas F1 Team1:17.060  44
206Nicholas LatifiCANWilliams Racing1:17.779  28
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Long time motorsport fanatic, covering Formula 1 and the occassional other series. Feel free to give him a follow on Twitter at @Paul11MSport.
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