Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Friday Practice Recap

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team lined up with Nico Hulkenberg and Oliver Bearman participating in the opening 60-minute practice session. Bearman, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, was present to fulfill the first of his six planned FP1 sessions this season – the 19-year-old British racer combining duties with his commitments in the 2024 Formula 2 Championship. 

Bearman opened his account with a 10-lap baseline stint on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires. A switch to the Red soft compound delivered a best lap of 1:18.667 – good for P15. Bearman concluded a productive session with a high-fuel run on his previously used set of mediums. Hulkenberg, driving at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the very first time in his motorsport career, set a fastest lap of 1:21.059 (P20) on his set of soft tires. The German had earlier started the session trialing the White hard rubber – reverting back to this set for his high-fuel run to wrap FP1.

Magnussen returned to the VF-24 in FP2 later in the afternoon – heading straight out on the medium tires to start his weekend running. Swapping onto the softs for his quali sim, the Dane clocked a fastest lap of 1:17.129 for P17 overall. A return to the hard compound and some distance running concluded Magnussen’s truncated Friday program. Hulkenberg had his first taste of medium rubber to start the second session. Expediting his Imola education, Hulkenberg banked a flying run of 1:18.141 on the soft tires to capture a slot inside the top 10 – P9 the outcome. High-fuel running on the mediums took Hulkenberg through to the checkered flag. 

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 111 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 31 by Bearman, 48 from Hulkenberg and 32 with Magnussen. 

 

Oliver Bearman: 

“I’m really happy with my performance in FP1. The session was a bit shorter because of the red flag but I’m quite happy with how I got up to speed with the car. Driving FP1 in F2 as well really helped me to make that step pretty quickly. I think all the work we’re doing behind the scenes is paying off because already from the early laps I was feeling really comfortable in the car and at home. The long run also went well, and the car feels like a good step compared to last year. I’m proud of the guys, they’re having a great season so far and I can’t wait to jump in again.” 

Nico Hulkenberg:

“This morning we did a bit of rake running to gather aero data to compare the launch car to the current car. In FP2, we went back to the normal program and it all felt okay. It was very windy out there today, so cars were quite difficult to drive because it’s inconsistent in terms of grip, hence making it easy to run off the track a bit. It’s an intense track, pretty fast but also has a great feel to it as well, I’m enjoying it.” Kevin Magnussen: “It’s a great track to drive, so it’s a pleasure to get in the car. It’s not an easy track to just jump in and be on it, but I wasn’t that far off. It’s super tight here, even tighter than usual, the midfield is crazy. I’m three or four tenths off Red Bull and I’m P17, so that tells you how close it is. You’re finding more and more time every lap and it’s probably the closest circuit to a street track that isn’t a street track because it’s so rough and raw, which I really enjoy.” 

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: 

“We had Ollie drive FP1 in place of Kevin and as he’s done before, he did a very good job. The first run we used to get him familiarized to the car, and he had a decent run on the soft tire, high fuel and did well on tire management as well, so that was another really good job. In FP1, Nico had a bit of car trouble, but we largely used Nico’s car to gather data on this latest package, so it wasn’t really a performing session for him. “In FP2, Kevin hopped back into the car, and I think it’s pretty clear in a few corners, we are really struggling so we’re going to look at set-up changes for tomorrow. Other than that, on the lower cornering-speed corners, our performance is decent. On high-fuel, I think our limitations are pretty clear so we’ll work on that tonight. FP2 was already definitely one step better than FP1 though, so we’ll look at what changes we can make overnight to make it better tomorrow.” 
 

Today's Data:

Overview: Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Friday May 17 
Location: Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola 
Layout: 4.909-kilometer (3.050-mile), 19-turn circuit 
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Mainly Sunny 
Drivers: Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen & Oliver Bearman 

Free Practice 1 (FP1) Rundown: 

Bearman: 15th overall (1:18.667), 31 laps 
Hulkenberg: 20th overall (1:21.059), 20 laps 
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:16.990) 

Free Practice 2 (FP2) Rundown: 

Hulkenberg: 9th overall (1:16.826), 28 laps 
Magnussen: 17th overall (1:17.129), 32 laps 
Fastest: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:15.906)