Leclerc heads Sainz in wet Emilia Romagna GP practice

Charles Leclerc led Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz during Friday’s practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

The sole pre-qualifying practice session took place in entirely wet conditions, following heavy rainfall overnight and through the morning, though drivers were able to switch to Intermediate tyres after the midway point.

Leclerc, who spun three times during the session but avoided damage, wound up with a time of 1:29.402s to finish eight-tenths clear of Sainz.

World Champion Max Verstappen was third-fastest, 1.4s behind Verstappen, with a large field spread behind the title challengers.

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Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher classified fourth and fifth respectively but were three seconds down on pacesetter Leclerc.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was sixth, ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who was first to switch to Intermediates.

AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was ninth while George Russell was the sole Mercedes driver in the top 10 – albeit at the foot of it.

Lewis Hamilton was marooned down in 18th place after setting his quickest time on Wet tyres.

The majority of drivers avoided drama during the session but Lando Norris caused a brief red flag when he spun off at Acqua Minerale, while Valtteri Bottas had a high-speed spin at the same corner just as the chequered flag was shown.

Bottas stopped just short of the barriers but was unable to extricate his Alfa Romeo from the gravel trap.

Qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is scheduled for 17:00 local time

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