Charles Leclerc does Friday double by topping second practice from Oscar Piastri | 2024 F1 Imola GP. Full report from FP2 at Imola as Charles Leclerc does the Friday double for Ferrari.

After leading Friday afternoon’s first practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc continued to dominate in the early stages of the second 60-minute session of the day at the Imola circuit. The cars initially ran on medium and hard tyres, but the real action began when they switched to softs for the mid-session qualifying simulations. Charles Leclerc set the pace with a 1m15.969s lap, later improving to 1m15.906s with a fresh set of soft tyres, securing the top spot.

McLaren’s Lando Norris had the potential to challenge the Maranello team, starting his sole soft tyre run with two fastest sectors. However, he ran wide at the Rivazza corners, dipping his right-side wheels into the gravel and aborting the lap. Norris returned later for high-fuel runs, typical for the end of the second free practice session.

Oscar Piastri managed to get within 0.192s of Charles Leclerc on his qualifying simulation, while Yuki Tsunoda impressed by taking third for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell improved on their second soft tyre laps, moving into fourth and fifth respectively, which bumped Carlos Sainz down in the standings. Carlos Sainz in the other SF-24 single-seater had an off-track moment at the Variante Alta during his second flying lap.

Max Verstappen’s first soft tyre attempt left him 0.541s off Charles Leclerc’s best time, struggling significantly in the middle sector where he had been off-track earlier in FP2. Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Perez attempted a second qualifying simulation run, but Max Verstappen encountered a slow-moving Hamilton at the Villeneuve chicane, causing him to abort his lap in frustration. Sergio Perez, approaching behind, also backed off.

Max Verstappen later went off-track through the gravel between the Rivazza corners during his high-fuel runs. Lando Norris’s incomplete soft tyre run left him in 12th, behind Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull.

The day marks a successful outing for Ferrari‘s upgrade package as the Italian side will analyze the data collected on Friday to continue preparation in view of Saturday’s qualifying session and the race on Sunday in Imola.

F1 Emilia Romagna GP 2024 – FP2 Results

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