Friday April 16, 2021
Perez accident during F1 practice
Vettel and Schumacher far behind
Accidents, trips to the gravel trap and turning: Free practice before the second Formula 1 race on Sunday in Imola is tough. At the front, Max Verstappen takes a damper, while Ferrari leaves a good impression. Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher again just follow them.
Max Verstappen threw a skeptical look at his defective Red Bull, then the Formula 1 star ran sobered and with a need to speak back into his pits. A technical problem slowed the challenger to world champion Lewis Hamilton on the first day of training in Imola.
Preparing for the next eagerly anticipated exchange of blows between the superstars at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola on Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky and RTL) went very badly for Verstappen – and again raised questions about the reliability of the undoubtedly fast Red Bull. Verstappen apparently had to climb out of his car prematurely after only five laps due to drive shaft problems. “Something broke,” the 23-year-old radioed to the command post. Verstappen rolled over the start and finish line and parked the car shortly after the pit exit.
“Vettel needs more time”
On the other hand, Hamilton reeled off his program without major problems. The record world champion drove in 1: 15.561 minutes only slightly slower than the fastest of the day Valtteri Bottas (1: 15.551) in the second Mercedes. “That was much better than in Bahrain,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, “the low temperatures helped us, I’m really happy.” Ferrari made a good impression in the home game with fourth place for Carlos Sainz (1: 15.834) and fifth for Charles Leclerc (1: 16.371). However, Leclerc crashed shortly before the end of training after a driving error. Strong third was the Frenchman Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri (1: 15.629).
Sebastian Vettel was still struggling at the beginning of his second race weekend in the Aston Martin. The four-time world champion finished only 15th in 1: 17.092 minutes. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer sees Vettel on the right track. What it takes is routine in the new car – and patience. “He still needs more time,” said Szafnauer after the first training session: “The more he drives, the better it gets.” Vettel was slower than his teammate Lance Stroll (1: 16.737) on Friday, but ultimately not dissatisfied. You’ve taken a step forward, “I felt more comfortable in the car,” he said on Sky.
Rookie Mick Schumacher (1: 17.350) won the team-internal duel with Nikita Masepin (1: 17.857), who had two spins, in 19th place. Team boss Günther Steiner took the Russian under protection. “Learning comes with pain,” said Steiner, “and pain is usually a broken car.”
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