© Getty Images2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Free Practice ReportBulls Finish Day One With More Questions Than Answers
MaxandChecofinishedtheopeningdayoftheEmilia-RomagnaGrandPrixscratchingtheirheadsastheystruggledtohookupperfectlapsintheRB20s.
In both Free Practice One and Two, both drivers couldn’t seem to get the most of the soft tyres, causing Max to run wide several times on his flying laps. Both drivers were unable to make the most of Friday and unusually, weren’t at the top of the timesheet, with Max finishing in P5 and P7, and Checo finishing P4 and P8
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The opening session of the weekend proved to be tough for both Max and Checo as they struggled to find the perfect set up for the RB20s with Checo finishing P4 and Max in P5.
The Bulls started the session on the soft C5 tyres, the softest in Pirelli’s range. Max put in three flying laps in his opening stint, and – unusually for the Dutch Bull – came in for a front flap adjustment as he wasn’t happy in the car. His fastest time was 1:18.050, placing him P2 at that point, just 0.141s behind George Russell.
After some adjustments in the garage, Max returned to the track, but was still uncomfortable in the car and couldn’t improve on his earlier time, so once again returned to the pits.
With 18 minutes remaining in FP1, Max left his garage on fresh soft tyres and was able to set a time of 1:17.240, placing him P4 at that point. He then went for two further flying laps and on both he went purple in sector one, but his RB20 became unsettled and he went off track and aborted both laps. He would end the session in P5.
Checo’s opening spell saw him complete two push laps, his best time being 1:18.614, placing him P2 at that point.
As Checo was preparing to leave the garage for his second stint, the red flags were waved due Alex Albon’s Williams losing power. When the pit lane was reopened, Checo returned to the action on the same soft tyres. He once again put in two flying laps, improving his time with a 1:17.891, which saw him finish in P7. Like Max, he finished FP1 on fresh tyres. He was able to improve his time once again with a 1:17.233, pushing him up to P4 at the end.
Charles Leclerc was quickest, +0.243s ahead of Checo and +0.240 in front of Max. George Russell was P2 and Carlos Sainz in P3.
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The Bulls headed out on fresh, medium rubber for the second session and instantly looked more comfortable on the yellow-walled tyres.
Both Max and Checo put in two flying laps - Max’s quickest time was 1:16.734, which placed him in P1 at that point in FP2, and Checo’s time of 1:16.996 saw him in P5.
At the halfway stage of the session, the Bulls left their garages on fresh soft tyres again to see if the changes made to their RB20s could get on top of the C5. Max’s first lap on the softs, was quicker landing a time of 1:16.447 putting him P3. He went for more push laps but couldn’t dial in his car and was unable to set a quicker time.
Checo had a similar experience. His first lap time was 1:16.552, placing him in P6. He failed to improve as well.
In the closing stages, the Team put the used mediums back on for some high-fuel race simulation laps, with both Max and Checo putting in nine laps each.
At the chequered flag, Max finished in P7 and his teammate, Checo, in P8. Charles Leclerc topped the session again, with a time of 1:15.906. Oscar Piastri was in P2 and VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda was third.
The Bulls are back on track tomorrow for FP3 (12:30 track time) followed by qualifying (16:00). Keep coming back to the Race Hub for all the exclusive content on the Team and drivers.
Checo Taking The Curb© Getty Images
| Rank | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | | 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:16.990 | - |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:17.094 | +0.104 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:17.120 | +0.130 |
| 4 | Sergio Pérez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:17.233 | +0.243 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:17.240 | +0.250 |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | Visa Cash App RB | 1:17.388 | +0.398 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:17.408 | +0.418 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17.602 | +0.612 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:17.807 | +0.817 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:17.867 | +0.877 |
