Hamilton's good day met with Alonso and Verstappen critcism after Imola practice

Lewis Hamilton has drawn criticism from both Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen after practice for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. During FP2, the Mercedes was involved in incidents with both of fellow world champions, as he caused both to check up whilst he was on a slow-lap.  Alonso claimed his former McLaren team-mate "thinks he is alone on the track" after a previously unseen incident at Turn 12 - Acque Minerali.  The Aston Martin driver then complained on the radio after Hamilton was slow to move off the racing line exiting Turn 7 - Tosa.  Meanwhile Verstappen was unhappy after coming across a slow seven-time champion through the Turn 5 and 6 chicane at Villeneuve, gesticulating towards the Briton who offered his hand in apology to his former title rival.  Verstappen was not that bothered by the problem post-session, prefering to focus on Red Bull's pace woes. "It is not the first time, but it happened and I don't want to talk too much [about it]," he said.  "Because that wasn't our problem today, we have to fix our speed."

Hamilton's promise

As for his day, Hamilton logged 56 laps in the upgraded Mercedes as the W15 showed a strong turn of pace, as he took seventh and fourth in the two sessions.  "We had a productive day and were able to run all three compounds [of tyres]," he said.  "The balance of the car felt good, and I had a positive feeling out there. Several other teams look quick, in particular McLaren and Ferrari, but we're a lot closer than we have been so far this season.  "We're not getting ahead of ourselves though so let's see how tomorrow goes.    "I am really grateful to everyone back at the factory for working so hard to bring these updates.  "We are seeing improvements in the car and our performance on track."