April 22, 2022
ITALY BABY! The fourth round of the 2022 Formula 1 season is about to get underway with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy. This weekend is packed full with racing: 2 practice sessions, qualifying, a 21 lap sprint race (they’re back this week!), and a 63 lap race to finish off the weekend. However, before all of the madness ensues, I think we should have a crash course on what you need to look out for this weekend.
This weekend marks the return of the F1 Sprint Race! Yes, I enjoy Sprint Races. They are an extra race in a weekend without getting rid of qualifying. It’s a beautiful thing. No, I wouldn’t want them for every race. That would be too much. But this 3 Sprints per season thing is pretty nice. For those of you who don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, the F1 Sprint Race is essentially a mini race. Held on Saturday, this dash to the finish line determines the starting grid for Sunday’s main race. Instead of qualifying being on Saturday, it is now on Friday and determines the starting grid for the Sprint Race. The Sprint is on Saturday, in place of Qualifying, and the outcome sets the starting grid for the race on Sunday. This year, regulations have changed and drivers who finish the Sprint in the top 8 will now be awarded points. Last year, only drivers finishing in the top 3 received points. With quali on Friday instead of Saturday, there will only be one practice session before the drivers head out to set their fastest laps. This means that teams will be having a race of their own to find the right set-up during Practice 1. It’ll be especially interesting to see how this affects the midfield this weekend.
Ferrari is back and ready to win in front of its home crowd. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix holds high hopes for another Ferrari win, and if Charles Leclerc wins, it will be his 3rd win in 4 races. Now THAT is impressive. I know that Max Verstappen did that last season – he even had 3 wins in a row – but for Ferrari to have come so far after years of disappointment, I’m proud and impressed. Fonza Ferrari!
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| Charles Leclerc winning the Australian Grand Prix on April 10, 2022 |
Anyway, Red Bull and Ferrari are our main podium contenders this weekend. Red Bull’s RB18 performs best in high speed stretches of the track. Sector 1 of Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (that’s the name of the circuit) is all high speed. Ferrari’s F1-75, on the other hand, is best at low speed corners and acceleration. Apart from Sector 1, the track is mainly low speed corners connected by small straights. The Imola track is also narrow, so overtaking only becomes a real possibility in the start-finish straight; the only part of the track where DRS is enabled. This is a great track for Ferrari, but they need a good qualifying and Sprint for this to be an easy win.
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| The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari |
Red Bull also needs to make sure it performs well this weekend. They have to actually finish the race with TWO cars, not one or none. After their horrendous start to the season, they really need to have a good result if they want to get back into championship contention again. Ferrari’s domination is going to be hard to curb, so falling behind is the last thing they want.
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| Max Verstappen retiring from the 2022 Australian Grand Prix |
Mercedes is going to have a hard time at this circuit if they haven’t solved their porpoising problem yet. Porpoising is a phenomenon where the suspension of the car bounces around and causes the driver a great deal of discomfort when driving. Porpoising also creates more downforce because as the suspension acts up, the car gets closer to the ground and the ground’s effect becomes stronger. More downforce means more drag and it slows down the cars in tracks that favor low-drag cars, the way Imola does. Mercedes is going to have to step it up if they want a good result this weekend.
It will be interesting to see how the Mclaren fares in Imola. After a disastrous start to the season in Bahrain, the Papaya team made a comeback in Australia; Lando Norris finished P5 and Daniel Ricciardo finished P6. Both drivers have said that the team expected the Albert Park Circuit to suit the car and they still don’t know how reliable the car is. But, I still wouldn’t mind a Mclaren joining the Ferraris on the podium. Preferably Lando (the Muppet) Norris. Just putting it out into the world. F1 gods do what you will with that information.
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| What we need to see again on the podium (I know it is probably an unattainable dream) |
Honorable Mentions:
Ferrari announced that they extended Carlos Sainz’s contract until 2024! Congratulations to him. Can’t wait to see how he starts dominating the track when he gets more comfortable with the car.
Just thought I’d mention that Nicholas Latifi crashed out of the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. So after 2 consecutive DNFs this season, I really hope he can finish at Imola. Last year it was raining and he spun. This year, there is only rain predicted for Friday so hopefully he will be ok during the actual race.
Ok, that’s all I have for today. I’m excited to see how this weekend pans out! Fingers crossed for another Ferrari 1-2, the Tifosi would love that. I’ll keep you all updated throughout the weekend with recaps of the practice sessions, qualifying, the Sprint Race, and the actual race.
Happy race weekend!
~ Divya
Where I got these
