Finnish Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won both of today’s training sessions at the Emilie Romagny Grand Prix. He beat his teammate Lewis Hamilton by 41,000ths of a second in the morning, and even by a hundredth in the second. On the other hand, the rival from the Red Bull, Max Verstappen, had problems, who did not finish the afternoon race due to technical difficulties.
–
Finnish Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas won both of today’s training sessions at the Emilie Romagny Grand Prix.
Luca Bruno, ČTK / AP
–
The second man of last season Bottas successfully set out on last year’s pole position on the iconic track in Imola. In the opening race of the season in Bahrain, he finished third and drove the fastest lap of the race.
“We are a little better than last race. I’m very happy about that,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Yuki finds the gravel during FP1 ????
It was a difficult session for the AlphaTauri driver on his return to Imola – he’ll be looking to improve when second practice gets under way this afternoon #ImolaGP ???????? # F1 pic.twitter.com/iBTW0GO2LX
– Formula 1 (@ F1) April 16, 2021
–
On the other hand, Verstappen, who is to be the main challenger to the reigning champion Hamilton, did not finish the race on this circuit last year and this time he was in trouble. After the third fastest time from the first practice, he only drove a few laps in the second before the car “went out”. The Dutch pilot had to walk to the pits and his car was transported to the background on public roads.
“I like Italy. There’s great food and I like it here. However, I’m not very lucky here during the races. I had a problem with the drive shaft, so I had to stop. Let’s see about it and hopefully we’ll do better on Saturday. We’ll see where we will end this weekend, “said Verstappen.
In addition to the Mercedes duo, Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri drew attention to himself in the fifth and third times, and the drivers of the home Ferrari, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, were in the top six in both races. However, Monačan ended the afternoon session with a minor accident, so the second practice was waved red flags in the same way as the first in Nikita Mazepin’s accident.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix program will continue on Saturday with its third training and qualification. Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 15:00.
It’s not quite as cold as it has been at Imola ????
But it’s a bit of a change from Bahrain ????
Ready for some FP1? We’re on track in just over five minutes ????#ImolaGP ???????? # F1 pic.twitter.com/tRwkaBcqLQ
– Formula 1 (@ F1) April 16, 2021
–
| Trainings for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula 1 World Championship race in Imola: |
| First training: |
| 1. Bottas (Fin./Mercedes) 1: 16.564 |
| 2. Hamilton (Brit./Mercedes) -0,041 |
| 3. Verstappen (Niz./Red Bull) -0,058 |
| 4. Leclerc (Mon./Ferrari) -0,232 |
| 5. Gasly (Fr./AlphaTauri) -0,324 |
| 6. Sainz (Šp./Ferrari) -0,324. |
| Second training: |
| 1. Bottas 1: 15,551 |
| 2. Hamilton -0,010 |
| 3. Gasly -0,078 |
| 4. Sainz -0,283 |
| 5. Leclerc -0,820 |
| 6. Pérez (Mex./Red Bull) -0.860 |
– .
