Ciao a tutti!
This weekend F1 is racing in Italy for the first time this season. It has been a while since Italian fans have had the chance to see a Ferrari running at the front on home soil and I’m so excited to see the passion of the Tifosi! The enthusiasm they bring, even palpable through the television broadcast of the sessions, is what Formula 1 is all about. It is also the first sprint weekend of the season, and both fans and teams alike are interested to see if the format has been improved from last year. If you need a refresher on the sprint race weekend format, head here.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race weekend takes us to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (quite a mouthful), also known as Imola. Autosport has a great quick-fire recap of the circuit and its history that I highly recommend. I’m a big fan of the circuit and its unique setting. Unlike modern F1 tracks, Imola is surrounded by a lot of foliage, and even residential homes. The track itself features a good amount of chicanes and corners that allow for exciting racing. Additionally, most of these chicanes and corners are bordered by gravel traps - an element many people are calling to be brought back to more tracks on the calendar.
Imola 2021 (Source: Getty Images)
Speaking of gravel traps, that was the drivers’ favourite place to be last time out at Imola in 2021. It was one of my favourite races to rewatch because of the pure chaos of it. We had a wet start to the race which, as we know, is usually a sign things are about to get interesting. It was the cause of many weird mistakes, like Nicholas Latifi sliding off the track and causing a collision on re-entry to the track, Mick Schumacher sliding into the wall outside the pit lane while trying to warm his tyres up, and Lewis Hamilton sliding into the wall and having to practice his reversing. However, most notably, was Valtteri Bottas and George Russell's collision that ended in both drivers retiring from the race. I still cringe thinking about *that* slap to the helmet from Russell.
Imola 2021 (Source: Getty Images)
This year, we continue with the rain, but if we’re going to see a repeat of last year's dramatics, it’ll probably be different protagonists. We most likely won’t be watching Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton fighting for the lead into the first corner (although never say never). Instead, most people are expecting Ferrari to solidify their place at the front of the field, and Italy is the perfect place for the Scuderia to do so. Something to watch out for is who is bringing effective upgrades this race weekend. Ferrari are not expected to make any changes but it’s likely they can hold their position at the front anyway. However, will Red Bull be able to fix the reliability issues they’ve been having? Verstappen will certainly be hoping so seeing as he’s currently 6th in the driver’s standings. I’m also keen to see if McLaren are able to build on their decent performance in Australia and turn their form around.
Most importantly, I’ll be looking out for the local track cat that has VIP access attached to its collar.
Ciao, I’ll see you at lights out!
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