In Imola with three drivers
In some respects the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix this year coincides with several new features for the Haas and for its drivers, who on the Imola circuit will try to repeat the same performances achieved in the last edition of 2022. In that case, the US team managed to finish in the points with Kevin Magnussen both in the Sprint and in the main race on Sunday, but two years later the general climate around the Danish driver has become decidedly heavier.
From controversy to ‘Magnussen-out’
Author of several misconducts in the last weekend in Miami, to the point of accumulating six time penalties (in addition to currently finding himself with 10 Penalty Points on his Superlicence), the former McLaren driver was criticized for some maneuvers that had already been seen in Saudi Arabia, with his future at Haas appearing far from obvious. In the meantime, however, the focus is entirely on Imola: “It’s a fantastic track, one I watched as a child and always wanted to race on, so it’s fantastic that it’s back on the calendar – he has declared – last time we were there it was a good weekend, I got a point in the 2022 Sprint. It’s quite difficult to overtake on this track, but not impossible. It will be the first good opportunity to collect aerodynamic data on the car we are using now, so it will be very useful and it will be a good experiment. You can’t help but notice the history when visiting this circuitwith some memories sadder than others for the accidents of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, but it is still significant, and racing a Formula 1 car in Italy is always special.”
Bearman in PL1
Magnussen, also penalized in Jeddah, will also be replaced by Oliver Bearman in PL1the first of the six in which the young Englishman will take part this year with Haas but already the protagonist of a race worthy of applause in Saudi Arabia at the wheel of Ferrari replacing the unavailable Sainz. Furthermore, the Prema F2 driver is also considered one of the main candidates for an official seat in Haas for 2025 in the event of Magnussen’s possible exit: “I can’t wait to get back into the team and take part in the FP1 in Imola – he added – the team is having a very positive season and I hope, with the extra experience I have accumulated since the last time we were together, I can contribute to continuing the series of results they are obtaining!”.
The first time for Hülkenberg
Finally, the case of is curious Nico Hülkenberg, fresh from 2 points obtained in the Sprint Race in Miami. Despite having contested 209 GPs in his career, for the German this will be his first weekend in F1 in Imola: “It may only be the seventh round, but we have now entered the heart of the season and returning to Europe is a great feeling. I have never raced at the ‘Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ racetrack and I am excited to tick this track off the listbecause it was very fun in the simulator“.
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