The Latest Breaking News on Formula 1

Fernando Alonso also takes aim at old rival Hamilton during a heated opening day in Italy

While out for a simulated qualifying run, Herta’s quickest lap of 234.974mph came courtesy of a tow off the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Graham Rahal with 90 minutes left on the session.

The Monegasque driver topped both practice sessions at Imola, edging McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.192s in the second session, on a strong day for Ferrari following the arrival of its upgrade package.Yuki Tsunoda impressed in FP2 by shooting up to third place for RB, ahead of both Mercedes drivers Lewis…

Verstappen's frustration boiled over throughout both practice sessions as his upgraded Red Bull RB20 proved hard to control on the technical Italian venue's second sector.

Charles Leclerc set the pace in Friday practice, making Ferrari the favourite to take pole position on home turf.

Leclerc continued as the frontrunner through the early stages of the day’s second 60-minute session, after he had also led Friday afternoon’s FP1 action, when the cars were split across the medium and hard tyres.

After he had also led Friday afternoon's FP1 action, Leclerc continued as the frontrunner through the early stages of the day's second 60-minute session when the cars were split across the medium and hard tyres.

O’Ward, who set the pace on Thursday courtesy of a “pretty fat tow lap”, is looking forward to the extra turbo boost that becomes available in today’s so-called ‘Fast Friday’ practice in preparation for the weekend’s qualifying sessions.

Motorsport.com has learned that Mercedes has begun an internal reshuffle of its aerodynamics department with Vino departing following six years at the team.