Ricciardo summoned to stewards
Daniel Ricciardo was summoned by the stewards over an incident that very nearly saw him collide with Kevin Magnussen during FP3.
They both went to explain their version of events a good hour ago, and a decision has come in.
No penalty for Ricciardo but it’s a €5,000 fine for RB for failing to make Ricciardo aware that Kevin Magnussen was coming up behind him at high speed.
Despite the stewards acknowledging the situation was ‘dangerous,’ Ricciardo avoided a penalty due to several mitigating circumstances.
Adrian Newey set to join Ferrari
Have Ferrari signed the man they have been missing?
Lewis Hamilton is an incredible signing for the Scuderia but they might have just found the winning solution with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey reportedly set to join the Italian team alongside the seven-time world champion.
Sources in Italy have suggested that the contract has already been signed, after he announced his exit from Red Bull ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
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Old rivals clash on track
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s on-track rivalry has been pretty much non-existent since their epic fight for the 2021 title – given the Brit has not had a car to challenge the dominant Red Bull.
But on Friday the Dutchman was left seething after he felt that he was impeded by the seven-time champion on a flying lap.
Verstappen wasn’t the only former rival of Hamilton who was annoyed with the Brit too!
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What the standings looks like going into this weekend
Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the standings in Miami, despite losing out to Lando Norris.
He holds a 33 point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez, with 20 points covering the Mexican, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.
- Max Vertstappen – 136
- Sergio Perez – 103
- Charles Leclerc – 98
- Lando Norris – 83
- Carlos Sainz – 83
- Oscar Piastri – 41
- George Russell – 37
- Fernando Alonso – 33
- Lewis Hamilton – 27
- Yuki Tsunoda – 14
Will Perez and Alonso’s cars be fixed in time for qualifying?
The mechanics in the Red Bull and Aston Martin garages will have known they had a job on their hands to get the cars of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso fixed in time for qualifying.
Sky Sports’ pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz believes both men will be able to take part in this afternoon’s qualifying, but if they do, their respective trips to the barriers of the Imola circuit is not the preparation they need going into qualifying.
Recap of this morning’s practice session
After Charles Leclerc topped the two sessions on Friday for Ferrari, it was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who led the way during a chaotic FP3.
The Australian was the only driver to set a representative lap time after Sergio Perez in his Red Bull crashed at the Variante chicane with five minutes remaining.
Fernando Alonso also crashed out of the session in his Aston Martin in the first of two red flags to be brought out.
Max Verstappen was not happy on Friday, with his pace, or Lewis Hamilton who he felt had impeded him, and though Red Bull made significant set-up changes overnight, they didn’t get the best of their car this morning.
Rounding off the top-five behind Piastri were his team-mate Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Leclerc and George Russell.
Good afternoon!
And welcome to Mail Sport’s live blog for qualifying for tomorrow’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the historic Imola track.
We are off the back of the first race win for McLaren’s Lando Norris in Miami, only the second driver not named Max Verstappen to win a race this season.
Red Bull have had a tough start to the weekend with both McLaren and Ferrari looking quick across the first three practice sessions.
Will there be another twist to the tale this weekend? We will get a good idea in this afternoon’s qualifying session which gets underway at 3pm.
We will be with you for all the build-up and action from qualifying.
