Red Bull started the first practice at Imola with Tom Hart talking to Verstappen instead of Lambiase, who is the head of race engineering at Red Bull.
The team said they wanted Hart to gain more experience as a race engineer, so he’s filling in for Lambiase temporarily. This helps Hart understand Lambiase’s job better and improves their working relationship.
During practice, Verstappen had some tricky moments. He tried to beat Leclerc’s time but struggled with his car’s grip and had to go off the track.
Verstappen told his team his car felt like a disaster and had no grip in some sections. He had a few scary moments where he lost control of his car but managed to avoid crashing.
Verstappen asked for more explanation about his performance in certain sections of the track. He finished fifth in practice, with his teammate Perez just ahead of him.
Perez got a fine for speeding in the pit lane during the early part of the practice session.
