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2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Weekend Recap

 April 26, 2022


What a weekend. Some things went my way, some things ran in the opposite direction screaming “STRANGER DANGER!” But it’s ok. We had a great weekend of racing in Imola, so let’s recap everything that happened. 

Free Practice Sessions:

Fp1: 4/22/2022

FP2: 4/23/2022

Both Free-Practice sessions gave us some expected and very unexpected results. 

  • Ferrari finished Friday’s Free Practice 1 (FP1) with Charles Leclerc in P1and Carlos Sainz about 0.877 seconds behind in P2. Leclerc was then 3rd and Sainz was 6th on Saturday in FP2. During practice 2, most teams were collecting data about how the cars behaved during long stints, so they didn’t really go for the fastest lap. 
  • Red Bull’s FP1 ended with Max Verstappen in P3, at about 1.465 seconds behind Leclerc, and Sergio Perez in P6. The roles were just about swapped for FP2.
  • Both Haas cars separated the two Bulls in FP1. Kevin Magnussen came 4th with the other Haas of Mick Schumacher closely behind in 5th. Yes, you read that right. Haas did well! They didn’t do very well in FP2, but I think they have a pretty good chance at succeeding in the race. 
  • Unfortunately for me, McLaren finished FP1 in 14th and 15th. A spin for Norris left him limping back to the pits and ending the session in P14. Ricciardo had a mechanical issue that made him miss FP2 and Norris was able to go for a few laps but a brake issue made him unable to set a good lap. 
  • Mercedes had a very volatile result with George Russell in P10 and Lewis Hamilton in P18 at the end of FP1. They did better in FP2 when Russell finished P1 and Hamilton finished P4. 
  • The sessions provided insight on how 2022’s new F1 cars work in wet conditions. With persistent rain throughout the session, drivers were almost always on slick compound tires or intermediate compound tires. Leclerc spun twice on slick tires and then twice more on intermediates. Many other drivers like Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi, Kevin Magnussen, and Alex Albon went into the gravel or the grass. Valtteri Bottas ended up in the barrier after running off into the gravel. 

Charles Leclerc spun multiple times throughout practice sessions

Overall, the practice sessions gave us a preview of what the weekend is going to look like. It seems the Ferraris and Red Bulls will fight for the win, Haas will put up a good fight in the midfield (possible podium for Magnussen?), the McLarens probably won’t make the podium, and we don’t know what’s going on with Mercedes.


Qualifying: 4/22/2022

Friday’s qualifying session was filled with red flags (seriously, it was like the FIA decided to obsess over red flags because they got yelled at for overdoing the penalties last year), rain, and impeccable commentary by David Croft and Paul di Resta.


The FIA:
The FIA

Q1:

  • With dark clouds looming over them, the drivers headed out for qualifying on a mix of slick and intermediate tires.

  • Right at the start of Q1, Alex Albon’s rear right brake overheated and caught on fire. As he tried to limp back to the pit late, the break exploded and left fiery hot debris all over the track. The first red flag of qualifying was called and Williams was left with only one car left. 

Alex Albon's brake exploded during Q1

  • The final few minutes of qualifying were nail biting as both of the Mercedes were in the elimination zone at one point. However, they managed to put in good laps that pulled them into Q2. 
  • This left Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly, Nicholas Latifi, Esteban Ocon, and Alex Albon eliminated from qualifying. The Alpha Tauris of Tsunoda and Gasly just weren’t performing well enough to beat the other, better, teams. Esteban Ocon aborted his final lap after suspecting gear box issues. Alex Albon’s break exploded and his teammate Nicholas Latifi spun.

Q2:

  • The threat of rain became more apparent as the clouds grew closer.
  • Carlos Sainz’s race engineer told him that he only had time to get one lap in before the rain came, so he started a flying lap on slick tires. He was doing very well and was set for P2, but he spun and crashed into the barrier in one of the final corners of the track. The FIA, following their new method of only calling red flags, red flagged qualifying for a second time.

Carlos Sainz getting out of his car after crashing in Q2

  • Here is where the commentary got good. When the time went out, instead of screaming his lungs out as he reports who finished where and what lap times people got, Crofty and Paul di Resta had a nice chat about how their day was exhausting and very long. It was interesting, to say the least.
  • Anyway, George Russell, Mick Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Zhou Guanyu, and Lance Stroll were eliminated from Q2. Russell qualified P11, and compared to his P6 in Australia, I’d say Mercedes isn’t listening to his very wise philosophy of “consistency is key”. By the time the red flag was over, the rain had come and the chances of improving lap times was very low. Since it is much harder to control the car in rain, the qualifying sessions of the bottom 5 were essentially over. 


Q3:

  • By the time Q3 rolled around, the rain had stopped and the track was just damp. The remaining 9 drivers (9 because Sainz qualified for Q3 but couldn’t participate due to his crash) set off to fight for pole position on intermediates.

  • Kevin Magnussen spun on a flying lap and was sent into the gravel. However, he managed to get the car out of the gravel (it’s the Laura effect, I’m telling you!) without getting stuck and made it back to the pits. In true FIA 2022 fashion, the third red flag of the session was called. Magnussen ended up qualifying P4, which is the best qualifying result Haas has ever had! Once again, the Laura Magnussen effect. 

  • Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were both vying for pole position when Valtteri Bottas crashed and brought out ANOTHER red flag. This benefitted Verstappen as he was able to finish his lap before the red flag was called, but Leclerc was not able to and was stuck in P2 with only a few minutes left in qualifying. 

  • Lando Norris then crashed with 40 seconds left in the session. The FIA gave us our FIFTH and final red flag and said qualifying had ended. There isn’t really any point in resuming when there is less than a minute left because no one would be able to accomplish anything. Even though he crashed, Lando, in Lando fashion, still managed to finish P3! Is my unattainable dream possible? Yes it’s qualifying for the sprint race but there is still a mini podium for that!

  • Norris’ red flag meant that Verstappen would upset all of Italy and get pole position and Leclerc would only start P2 in the sprint race.



Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris (from left to right)

Sprint Race: 4/23/2022

  • After having the starting grid set by Friday's qualifying session, Max Verstappen lined up first on the grid. The new format of Sprint races gives points to the top eight finishers rather than the top three of last year: 8 points for first down to 1 point for 8th.
  • Charles Leclerc had a good start and took the lead into the first corner. This made the race run Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris. My ideal podium!
  • Then, we got a safety car when Zhou Guanyu and Pierre Gasly made contact at Turn 9 of Lap 1. Zhou ended up hitting a barrier and his race was over. He is set to start last on the grid for Sunday’s race. In the contact, Gasly’s tire was severely affected and he had to pit to get it fixed.


Zhou Guanyu crashed during the first lap of the sprint race

  • The Mclaren of Lando Norris was ultimately overtaken by Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz. This was, of course, very unfortunate for me. But on the bright side, Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari made up six places to start P4 in Sunday’s race!
  • Throughout the race, Verstappen hung on to the back of Leclerc’s Ferrari. After many failed attempts, Verstappen finally managed to overtake Leclerc with two laps left of the race. For a moment it looked like Leclerc could overtake Verstappen and get P1 back, but in the end he just didn’t have the pace. His tires were graining and gone by the end, and he couldn’t risk a potential crash. 
  • Kevin Magnussen unfortunately dropped down to P8, but it’s still a points finish for him! Schumacher is in 10th, meaning that the Haas are both starting in pretty good positions.
  • Valtteri Bottas finished the Sprint at P7, a great place for the Alfa Romeos. 



Race Day: 4/24/2022

  • Throughout the race, there was the risk of rain but it never heavily rained. It wasn't like Russia 2021, that would have given me terrible flashbacks. There were a few minutes of drizzling but other than that, the drivers had to race on a damp or dry track. A mix between intermediate tires and dry compound tires were used.
  • Max Verstappen got an easy win and came in 16.527 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez in second. It was a Red Bull 1-2!
  • Lando Norris got a good start and overtook Charles Leclerc, but Leclerc managed to get back in P3 at Lap 8. 
  • Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz made contact, bringing out a safety car.  Sainz was forced to retire after getting stuck in the gravel. There was a safety car. This was his second DNF in a row after not finishing in Australia too. The big red sea of Tifosi were not happy and Ricciardo is most likely never welcome in Italy again.


Sainz and Ricciardo in the gravel after making contact.

  • Ricciardo spent the remainder of the race at the back of the grid and it seemed like Mclaren used the race to collect data about the car. Even Ted Kravitz, a Sky Sports commentator, seemed to think Ricciardo was a test subject. He said, and I quote, “the honey badger just became a test gerbil”, when Mclaren were the first to switch from intermediates to medium compound tires on the car.
  • Fernando Alonso retired early after his sidepod flew off the car. 

Here you can see the inside of Alonso's car. You are not supposed to be able to see that.

  • Kevin Magnussen had some great battles with the midfield. 
  • Esteban Ocon had an unsafe release from the pit and it was not good for Lewis Hamilton. Especially after a slow pit stop, this was not what he needed. Ocon ended up getting a 5-second time penalty for the unsafe release.
  • Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez were fighting for P2. After swapping around a few times, Ferrari – in P3 – decided to pit for new tires on Lap 54 and try to get the point for fastest lap. Red Bull decided to pit Perez as well to put up a fight for the fastest lap. When Perez came out of the pit lane, Leclerc had the chance to overtake him. He went on a flying chase and became “demon Charles” as I like to say. However, this was detrimental for him when he spun over a curb and ended up in the barriers. Luckily he was able to recover the car and only dropped down to P9, but it was very sad to see Leclerc’s podium chances ruined.
  • Leclerc’s mistake made it possible for Lando Norris to come P3 and we got the podium we wanted! My dream was accomplished!
  • Leclerc was on the chase to get back up into a better position for the last 10 laps and he made up 3 places. While this was sad, it showed us how good the Ferrari is.
  • Valtteri Bottas and George Russell crashed at Imola last year. This year, they had another battle: for P4. In the end, Bottas couldn’t catch Russell. Their driving styles seem to be very compatible when it comes to competing against one another, and it makes for a very entertaining race for me!

The 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Podium (It is a beautiful sight to see)


Honorable Mentions:

  • They brought back the cool-down room! I love how instead of talking about their races, Verstappen, Norris, and Perez only talked about Leclerc’s crash. (And they got things wrong about it because they were driving their own races)
  • There weren’t any red flags during the race! The FIA only deployed safety cars! Yay FIA! You might have proved me wrong! But honestly, you would think that after Abu Dhabi last year, red flags would be chosen over safety cars. 

Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris dissecting and overanalyzing Leclerc's crash

Ok, that’s all for the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. It was a very eventful weekend and I’m glad I was able to write about it. I don't agree with the people saying Leclerc's championship opportunities are gone because of this weekend. We have a whole racing season ahead of us, he can make up for mistakes in another race and he has a championship car. It will be interesting to see how the Alpines and Mercedes improve throughout the season because their cars perform one way on one track, and the complete opposite way on another track. For now, I'm just going to hold on to the fact that we got to see Lando back on the podium! I guess the F1 gods listened. Maybe next time I should pray to Laura Magnussen too.


I’ll be back for the race in Miami on May 6-8!


~ Divya


Where I got these

from:

Photos:

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