F1 | Imola: Martini proposes to remove the Villeneuve Variation

Imola: a natural track that enhances the skills of the drivers. In qualifying, the Enzo e Dino Ferrari offers a spectacle worthy of the annals of motor racing, while in the race it doesn’t offer great overtaking opportunities. And since we hear whispers of a possible extension of the life of the Made in Italy and Emilia Romagna GP, it is right to think about how to make an event that still attracted more than 200 thousand spectators over the weekend more spectacular.

If, and only if, Imola were to extend its presence in the future F1 calendar, it would be worth reworking the track layout. There is talk of the need to redo the asphalt surface (again there are many bumps which are very annoying to the pilots, forced to raise the minimum height and, therefore, lose aerodynamic load, so as not to bulge with the board), so it would be worth It’s worth thinking about bringing the Tosa back to life, a curve which today is not very selective and follows a short distance from the Variante Villeneuve.

Ayrton Senna’s fatal accident in the 1994 San Marino GP with the Williams FW16, although caused by the broken steering column, had forced a major overhaul of the circuit on the banks of the Santerno with the introduction of the Variant of Tamburello and that of Villeneuve.

Now, perhaps, the time has come to revisit the design of the track, considering that there are city circuits like Jeddah or Las Vegas where dizzying top speeds are reached between the walls.

Pierluigi Martini has been “hammering” Gian Carlo Minardi, president of Formula Imola, the company that manages the Enzo and Dino Ferrari for a couple of months. The former Formula 1 driver, who made his debut in the Circus with Minardi in 1985, showed up at the racetrack complete with a sketch to convince his former team principal to evaluate the proposal.

“Qualifying was amazing – Martini explained to Motorsport.com – but after six laps of the race I felt like leaving: it was clear that without an error there would have been no overtaking. If Imola wants to aspire to keep the GP it must change its face: it must give back… life to the Tosa, proposing another real overtaking point”.

Pierluigi has very clear ideas: “It would be enough to draw a straight line between the Tamburello and the Tosa, avoiding the useless Villeneuve Variation – continues the man from Romagna, who also won a 24 Hours of Le Mans with BMW in 1999 – and, to do a good job, we should remove the second part of the Variante del Tamburello and connect the new straight from the first right, avoiding letting the single-seaters go towards the river”.

In this way there would be wide escape routes on both sides of the track, but there would be the risk of not having enough space right at Tosa…
“But who said that? The corner stand could be removed to gain space and new stands could be erected in Villeneuve’s absence. Anyone who has experienced the GPs with the Tosa braking knows what I’m saying and it would be fantastic to return to Imola what was perhaps the most spectacular point on the track.”

Martini, from the height of his 118 GPs with Minardi and Scuderia Italia, launches his proposal, especially since he knows the area inside out having lived close to the track for many years…
“It’s time to think about it: Imola with the real Tosa detached could become a lot of fun for the drivers and spectators”.

The game could be worth the candle if Formula 1 were willing to renew the agreement with Imola, but it is interesting to understand what reactions Martini’s proposal could generate in the Circus, regardless of the costs that the idea would entail if it were realized…