Formula 1: Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna Qualification: Sunday 12 noon (AEDT) – Live
After his 92nd career victory last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton will again be the focus of attention this weekend if his Mercedes team aims to achieve a record title as seventh constructor.
But he has to overcome a radical new weekend schedule – with no Friday and only one training session on Saturday – that puts additional pressure on every team in the paddock.
Follow the action on our live blog below!
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Kimi’s ridiculous round!
1:46
RACE CENTER: LIVE TIMING OF EVERY SESSION
Not only did Hamilton spearhead the “Silver Arrows” battling for unparalleled glory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but he was also emotional at his first F1 race at Imola – the place where the legendary Ayrton Senna died on May 1, 1994 .
“Obviously, the 1994 story is something we always remember,” said Hamilton. “I drove around today and it was a very special lap. Just walked around and saw this historic route and passed the hard memory of where Ayrton crashed.
“It’s still very surreal for me when I go to places where you know that the greats of the past like the tunnel in Monaco or Silverstone drove …
“I used to be in an area where Ayrton did what he loved many years ago, 26 years ago, as I did.
“In a way, it’s heartwarming to know that I could be here and do what he did 26 years ago, but other than that, it’s just another race.”
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Ricciardo sent spinning in the second quarter
0:24
When the F1 circus returns to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the first time in 14 years and for the 100th F1 race in Italy, Mercedes needs 11 points to confirm its seventh title win in a row.
Given that Hamilton-Valtteri Bottas’s one-two at Portimao last Sunday was a fourth this year and they averaged more than 36 points per race, this seems like a formality.
Without scheduled training on the Friday before the sport’s first official two-day racing weekend, however, the teams are all under additional pressure to hit the ground (locally) on Saturday morning.
The race is the third Grand Prix to be held in Italy this season.
PRACTICE RESULT:
Lewis Hamilton was in the lead ahead of Max Verstappen in the first and last practice session on Saturday morning at the two-day Emilio Romagna Grand Prix this weekend.
Series leader and six-time world champion Hamilton drove a best lap of one minute and 14.726 seconds on soft tires in his Mercedes, beating the Dutchman’s Red Bull by two tenths.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate and closest title rival Valtteri Bottas finished third, almost half a second behind the pace, ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon’s Renaults were sixth and seventh, ahead of Daniil Kvyat in the second Alpha Tauri, Alex Albon in the second Red Bull and Lance Stroll of Racing Point.
Several drivers had canceled fast lap times because they had exceeded the track limits while looking for more speed on an old-school racetrack surrounded by trees and rolling parkland in central Italy.
The four-time champion Sebastian Vettel continued his season problems in the second Ferrari when he ended up in 12th place, six tenths slower than Leclerc.
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