Charles Leclerc was troubled by the “helmet lift” struggles during opening practice at the F1 Emilia Romana Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver reported that he was struggling with airflow issues in the cockpit, which disrupts his run plans and annoys him throughout his first hour at Imola.
“You’re still on the point for 1 turn,” Leclerc said, “Is it not easy to put a little shield or something?”
After entering the pit, Ferrari added a small wind shield just in front of the cockpit, hoping to fix the issue.
However, Leclerc was still struggling when he returned to the track, holding the helmet on his run to one point and hold it at one turn per turn.
“Helmet lifts are scary,” he said.
Leclerc later added: “The screen is too small. There’s no difference.”
Sky Sports F1 Pundit Jamie Chadwick said the issue should be resolved in gaps between practice sessions.
“If you know exactly how much you need to change, it should be a simple fix,” she explained.
“His helmet is effectively lifted from his head, so it feels like only the strap you hold underneath, which is a scary feeling.
“I’m not surprised he’s complaining about it a lot. It’s the worst and not something you want to go to Tambrello.
“They obviously tried to fix it with a bit of lips, which didn’t work. They’re going again in another step.
“The problem is he lost time there because he’s not comfortable coming in and going. You’re not focusing on the car setup or what changes you actually need to make.
For Leclerc, who was away from Media Day on Thursday after he felt sick, it was far from an ideal start to the weekend.
Leclerc skipped media commitments for rest and recovery, as will be held during Friday’s practice session.
He finished FP1 in 12th place on the timesheet, and was over 0.5 seconds away at pace.
Teammate Lewis Hamilton had a better session and finished fifth in just 0.096 seconds from the pace set by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
However, both Ferrari drivers were seen running and bouncing up the curbs on Classic Italian trucks as they sometimes seem to struggle with understeer on the upgraded SF-25.