After the significant updates introduced by McLaren in Miami at the Imola GP, it will be the turn of Red Bull and, above all, Ferrari. The world champion team will bring the second seasonal package after the one introduced at Suzuka, but the big news of the weekend is the updates that will debut on the SF-24. The traditional weekend format will also return to Romagna after more than a month, interrupted by the two Sprint events in China and Miami, which indirectly influence the weekend’s field values, as seen for Ferrari in Shanghai and Red Bull in Florida.
Two years ago, the rain had turned the weekend upside down, with Red Bull strong in all conditions thanks to a wide operating window of the RB18. At the moment, the possibility of rain is not completely ruled out even if, for now, the forecast gives a more serene climate after these two days (Wednesday and Thursday) with abundant rainfall. However, the temperatures will not be comparable to the Miami heat which helped Ferrari a lot to light up the tires for the flying lap.
In this case, the updates on the Red will immediately be called into question to allow Leclerc and Sainz to start as far upfront as possible and fight with Red Bull and McLaren in Qualifying. Other teams, such as Aston Martin and Sauber, will also bring important packages for their respective cars, which will most likely shape the second half of the season.
IMOLA GP: QUALIFYING WILL BE CRUCIAL, MEDIUM-SPEED CORNERS ARE FUNDAMENTAL
On a track more conducive to overtaking like Miami’s, Qualifying was important because, without the Safety Car, which favoured his stop, Lando Norris would have had great difficulty winning the race. Considering the probable narrow gaps between the leading group and the single DRS zone of Imola, Saturday’s Qualifying could be the most important of the year so far.
Red Bull has improved a lot over the winter in this respect and enjoyed a lead of almost three-tenths over the second-placed force on a single lap. With lower temperatures, as in Suzuka and Shanghai, Ferrari struggled to turn on the tyres and keep them in the correct operating window for the entire duration of the lap; from this point of view, the updates planned for the weekend, already tested, could help on the filming day in Fiorano last week.
The circuit is made up of many medium-speed corners, while the slow sections are only those of the Tosa, Variante Alta and Rivazza 1, and especially at the Variante Alta, it is very important to be able to exploit the curbs to maximize lap times. Therefore, engineers will have to find a compromise between load and softness.
In 2022, Red Bull dominated the medium-speed sections, especially those in the first sector, winning the Imola GP despite Ferrari being the absolute favourite at the start of the weekend, given the characteristics of the track. This weekend, too, it will be very difficult to make predictions. McLaren has shown a very important step forward on a circuit that is unfavourable to the MCL38, like that of Miami, but will have to confirm itself on different track and conditions; Red Bull is under more pressure than it has been in the last 18 months and will bring planned updates, while Ferrari will have to be able to take advantage of the important updates that will debut on the SF-24 at the Imola GP.
Comparison Ferrari SF-24 Bahrain spec and SF-24 2.0, Imola spec – Illustration by Rosario Giuliana
Pirelli will bring the softest range of compounds for the weekend in Emilia Romagna; the C3, C4, and C5 are a step softer than the compounds brought two years ago, but the wet race had removed references for the 63 laps of the race. In Australia Ferrari had suffered with the construction of the C5, this weekend will be the opportunity to see any progress made from this point of view too. Teams will most likely try to make the single-stop work for two reasons. Overtaking is very difficult, and the single DRS zone is often not enough to overtake the cars in front without a significant advantage in terms of pace and top speed.
Furthermore, the time lost in the pits at the Imola GP is the highest of the entire calendar. The uncertain weather in recent weeks takes away any guarantee, but the chances of rain for the weekend are quite low, with temperatures expected to be around 23/24°C.
The forces exerted on the tyres are concentrated on the right side but are not very high, despite the asphalt being quite abrasive with a low level of evolution over the course of the weekend compared to circuits like Miami, but the rain could change this aspect. On the Romagna circuit, changes have been made to the escape routes, where the gravel will punish any errors and mark the limits of the track in a more natural way.
IMOLA GP UPDATES: NOT ONLY FERRARI, ASTON AND SAUBER WILL ALSO HAVE CRUCIAL UPDATES
The Ferrari SF-24 2.0 will be the hottest topic of discussion ever at the Imola GP despite Vasseur’s team having tried to keep a very low profile by limiting proclamations so as not to further increase the pressure on the team. The home Grand Prix is always a heartfelt event in Maranello, but in the last sixteen races on Italian soil, Ferrari has only managed to win once. The steps forward in terms of temperature management will immediately be put to the test in one of the most important Qualifying of the year. The probable closeness of performances with Red Bull and McLaren will make Saturday even more fundamental than it already is.
It will also be necessary to evaluate the size of the package that will be mounted on the RB20, whose technicians will be able to benefit from three free practice sessions to fine-tune the car and extract all its potential.
Further back, Aston Martin will bring an important package to the Imola GP after the updates brought to Suzuka, which gave good feedback on the track, pending the more substantial package arriving at Imola. In Miami, the AMR24 showed mid-pack performance, even two-tenths slower than Racing Bulls in terms of race pace. Tsunoda and Ricciardo themselves will be able to benefit from some minor updates after the new surface is brought to America, which gave an advantage of around two-tenths, to be confirmed in the home race.
At the first European event of the season, Sauber will also bring some important updates that will mark the next races of the Hinwil company, according to Alunni Bravi, also on the subject of pit stops. The new nuts that will debut at the Imola GP will have the task of limiting the time in the pits stop after the serious problems at the beginning of the year, which prevented Bottas and Zhou from obtaining points, definitively solving this problem. Finally, Williams will also have some updates on Emilia Romagna to try to revive the season after a difficult start on all fronts.
