Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: Leclerc leads the pack in second practice
Charles Leclerc dominated Friday's second practice (FP2) at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, posting the fastest lap time and setting the pace ahead of Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda.
The session began at 1700 local time with Esteban Ocon leading the field out, following an eventful first practice earlier in the day. Immediate issues arose for Nico Hulkenberg, who had to return to the pits without setting a time due to a problem with his Haas. Williams also encountered a sluggish start as both cars remained in the garage.
On track, tensions ran high. Fernando Alonso found himself stuck behind a slow-moving Lewis Hamilton, which displeased the Aston Martin driver. Charles Leclerc, despite quickly topping the timesheets, had concerns of his own, asking his engineer to check the steering of his Ferrari.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant joined the track 20 minutes into the session, just as the majority of drivers were switching to their soft tire runs. Leclerc maximized this opportunity, clocking an impressive 1m 15.906s.
Piastri closely followed, trailing by just 0.192s for McLaren, while Yuki Tsunoda delighted the RB home crowd by securing the third fastest time.
Max Verstappen had another challenging session, grappling with grip issues in his Red Bull and expressing his frustration following a near-miss with Hamilton, despite Hamilton’s apology.
As the session wound down, Leclerc, Piastri, and Tsunoda remained in the top three positions. However, Tsunoda faced a potential post-session investigation for a possible practice start infringement.
Hamilton claimed P4, closely followed by his Mercedes teammate George Russell in P5. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari took P6, while Verstappen's difficult session left him in P7, exacerbated by a run across the gravel in the closing minutes.
Verstappen led fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who drew an irritated response from Leclerc late in the session after apparently obstructing him on the racing line.
Read next ❯ Ferrari to reveal Hamilton's debut F1 car on February 19 at MaranelloDespite initial setbacks, Hulkenberg emerged as the lead Haas in P9, with Fernando Alonso completing the top 10 drivers. Daniel Ricciardo of RB and McLaren’s Lando Norris came in 11th and 12th respectively.
Lance Stroll slotted into P13 for Aston Martin, with the Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly following in P14 and P15. Valtteri Bottas finished at P16 for Kick Sauber, while Kevin Magnussen, after sitting out FP1, took P17.
Albon and Sargeant wrapped up a tough day for Williams at P18 and P20, with the Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu between them at P19.
With the first day of track action now in the books, teams will analyze their data and return on Saturday for the third and final practice session.
