Preview | Ferrari as favourites for Imola or will Red Bull surprise?

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is just around the corner. The Formula One circus travels to Imola for the fourth race of this season. The famous Imola circuit has been back on the F1 calendar since 2020 and drivers and teams have liked it. There will be even more racing around the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in 2022, as the race weekend format with a sprint race for the first time this year. Read everything you need to know for the upcoming GP in this preview from GPblog.

Grand Prix in Imola

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was held for the first time in 2020, but it was not the first time F1 ran a race in Imola. In fact, that happened back in 1980, when Ferrari's test track was used for the first time for the Italian Grand Prix. This edition, won by Nelson Piquet, was so well-liked that the race returned in 1981 under the name of the San Marino Grand Prix.

After the fatal crash of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in 1994, the circuit was modified for 1995. Despite these fatalities, the race would remain on the F1 calendar until 2006. Michael Schumacher won no less than seven times for the Tifosi, while Senna is still the driver with the second-most wins at the circuit with three, level with Alain Prost. Williams and Ferrari as a team have won the most at Imola: eight times each.

At the last edition of the GP of Emilia Romagna, it was Max Verstappen who stood on the top step. After being beaten by Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez in qualifying on Saturday, the Dutchman had the perfect start on Sunday on a wet track and drove to victory.

Hamilton was second, but was helped by Valtteri Bottas and George Russell. They caused a crash with a red flag that was very convenient for Hamilton. In an attempt to get closer to Verstappen, he took too much risk on slicks on the wet track and slid. However, on a dry track and with a repaired front wing, he was able to return from P8 to P2 after the restart. Lando Norris finished in third place.

Weekend with a Sprint

During the GP weekend in Imola, the race format with a sprint race will be used again for the first time in 2022. The Sprint takes place on Saturday and the result is used as the starting order for the Grand Prix on Sunday. Unlike in 2021, the title of "pole position" will again be given to the fastest man in qualifying.

Qualifying will be held on Friday after one free practice session. On Saturday there is a second free practice before the Sprint, but this is less interesting due to the limitations of Parc Fermé. Sunday is, as usual, the race with the most points.

Still, there is more to win on Saturday than there was in 2021. Where then the top three received points (3,2 and 1), points are now awarded to the top eight (8,7,6,5 etc.). This should make the stakes higher on Saturday, so there will be a proper race conducted. The Sprint is 100 kilometers long and will last between 25 and 30 minutes.

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari

The circuit of Imola used for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been in its current state since 2008. Of course, some safety modifications have been made to keep the F1 cars of this generation from having a terrible crash, but the circuit in Italy still has its unique character.

At 4.909km, Imola is certainly not the longest circuit on the grid, but with 19 corners it is a pretty technical circuit. Every mistake is punished, because next to the track you immediately end up in the grass or gravel. The fastest pole lap was set by Lewis Hamilton last year. He drove 1.14.411 lap time.

 

 

 

 

 

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Formula 1 in 2022

After three races in 2022, we can make a fair estimate of the proportions. Ferrari is the team to beat after the new regulations. The F1-75 is fast and above all reliable, which is why Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have already managed to score many points. Leclerc is well in the lead in the championship, with George Russell 34 points behind as his closest rival.

His real rival is at Red Bull Racing: Max Verstappen won the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia and was the only one to stay close to the Monegasque in Bahrain. However, the reigning world champion has already retired twice due to reliability problems, increasing the gap to 46 points between himself and Leclerc.

Mercedes aren't as fast, but more reliable than Red Bull. As a result, Russell is in second place in the championship and so is the German team in the Constructors' standings. However, Mercedes will need to find a lot of pace to officially enter the title race with Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.

Weather forecast

From Thursday onwards, according to Weather.com, it will start raining in Imola and that could provide a spectacle. Instead of two free practices, there will be one practice and one qualifying on Friday. On Saturday there is the sprint race in the modified race weekend of Formula 1.

After rain showers on Thursday and Friday (97 and 94 percent chance of rain), it clears up slightly on Saturday. The temperature rises by about 7 degrees to a maximum of 22 degrees during the day. The chance of rain on Saturday is only 24 percent. On Sunday the temperature drops again to 19 degrees and the chance of rain increases to 54 percent. In addition, thunderstorms are also predicted.

Expectations for the Grand Prix in Imola

After the first three races, Ferrari goes into its home circuit in Imola as the favourite. The F1-75 has been the best car over all three circuits, but above all it was fastest in slow sectors where more downforce was needed. If that will come in handy anywhere, it's at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari with lots of tight and slow corners.

Behind it, the question will be how close Red Bull can get. Christian Horner said that there will be no updates to Imola, but Helmut Marko has revealed the opposite. With only one free practice session, however, it is questionable whether you can properly test an update.

So far, Mercedes has had a lot of trouble following Ferrari and Red Bull. In Australia they seemed to go a bit better and the team knew how to handle the tyres a lot better than Red Bull. This could possibly play an important role again in Imola.

Time schedule for the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Friday

First free practice: 12:30-13:30

Qualifying: 16:00-17:00

Saturday

Second free practice: 11:30-12:30

Sprint: 15:30-16:30

Sunday

Race: 14:00-16:00