Imola returns to represent an important appointment for Formula 1. After the triple trip between the Middle East and Australia, the Circus arrives for the first time in Europe and does so at Santerno, the venue also chosen for the first of the three rounds with an ‘experimental’ format of 2022. The starting grid for the Sunday Grand Prix, in fact, was established by the order of arrival of the sprint race on Saturday, which awarded points to the first eight classified.
After the emotions of the first two days of the weekend, it’s time to focus on the real race – the Grand Prix of Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna – highlighting all the variables that could come into play this afternoon. In the event of a dry race, Pirelli will make the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) And C4 (Soft). This is the same nomination as last year, even if the compounds of the 18 inches are obviously different.
The tires are completely new, but the Imola track has remained unchanged from last season: old school style and tight. The asphalt dates back to 2011 so the surface is quite abrasive. This is why here the jump in compound between Medium and Soft, adopted for Australia a couple of weeks ago, is not practicable: the more mature Imola surface generates more grip and therefore more heat in the tires and for this reason the choice was necessary. of a more robust soft compound.
The lateral and longitudinal forces on the tires are similar to each other and this is a smooth track where the drivers need to find a good pace. It is particularly important to be able to have good traction out of the last corner – the Rivazza – to tackle the long starting straight before the heavy braking that precedes the first corner (which offers an excellent overtaking opportunity).
F1 | GP Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna 2022, the starting grid
1st Row | 1. Max Verstappen Red Bull |
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2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari |
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2nd Row | 3. Sergio Perez Red Bull |
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4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari |
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3rd Row | 5. Lando Norris McLaren |
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6. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren |
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4th Row | 7. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo |
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8. Kevin Magnussen Haas |
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5th Row | 9. Fernando Alonso Alpine |
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10. Mick Schumacher Haas |
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6th Row | 11. George Russell Mercedes |
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12. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri |
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7th Row | 13. Sebastian Vettel Mercedes |
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14. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes |
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8th Row | 15. Lance Stroll Aston Martin |
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16. Esteban Ocon Alpine |
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9th Row | 17. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri |
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18. Alexander Albon Williams |
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10th Row | 19. Nicholas Latifi Williams |
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20. Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo |
Best strategies on 63 laps of the GP Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna
There is less data than usual on slick tires ahead of Sunday’s race and this makes the strategy calculation more complex. If conditions remain dry, you will almost certainly have only one stop because in Imola it is not particularly easy to overtake and a lot of time is wasted on the pit lane. It is therefore likely that priority will be given to maintaining the position on the track. The most versatile strategy is to start with the Medium: this leaves many options open because this compound offers a very wide pit stop window giving the possibility to then switch to the Hard at the right time. Those who want a more focused strategy might choose to start with the Soft and then move on to the Hard, but this option is less flexible. As usual, the weather conditions (and therefore the actual levels of wear and degradation) will be decisive.
“We expect lower temperatures on Sunday, an aspect that needs to be taken into consideration – he has declared Mario Isola to FormulaPassion.it – I think of a race as a stop, because here in the pit lane you lose a lot of time, about 27-28 seconds, which is a lot to recover on the track. Then we will see during the course of the race: 63 laps are a lot and we have to see what will happen. If I have to say my feelings, I think most will start on average. Having a tire that gives more flexibility in the pit stop in the event of a Safety Car helps. So I guess a Medium-Hard strategy will be the most popular one “.
Forecast for the race (15:00 local time)
3 pm: mostly cloudy, 16 ° C, wind 26 km / h SW, 81% probability of rain
4 pm: mostly cloudy, 16 ° C, wind 21 km / h SW, 49% probability of rain
Television programming in Italy
LIVE Sky Sport F1 and TV8
13:25 Paddock Live
14:55 GP Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna
16:55 Paddock Live
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