Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a wet first practice at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Leclerc was 0.877 seconds quicker than Carlos Sainz, with Verstappen 1.465secs behind the championship leader.
Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher were fourth and fifth ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Italy’s Imola is hosting the first ‘sprint’ event of the season, with qualifying taking place at 16:00 BST.
Qualifying sets the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, which sets the grid for the main grand prix and awards points for the drivers who finish in the first eight positions.
Practice started very wet after heavy overnight rain and the drivers switched from the ‘extreme’ wet tyres to the more lightly treaded ‘intermediates’ about halfway through.
Leclerc, who has two wins and a second place from the first three races, had a number of spins as he explored the Ferrari’s limits in the wet for the first time, but ended the session laying down an impressive marker for the field.
George Russell was the quickest Mercedes driver in 10th place, nearly five seconds off the pace, with Lewis Hamilton down in 18th, a further two seconds back. Both drivers only used the full wet tyres.
McLaren’s Lando Norris had an off at the Acque Minerali corner which prompted a brief red flag with five minutes to go, but was able to return to the track without assistance.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also lost control at the same corner right at the end of the session, and became beached where the gravel trap ended and a patch of asphalt began.
