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The Circuit
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Results

Race
Lewis Hamilton
1:20.331 Fastest Lap
63 Laps
6th
George Russell
1:18.589 Fastest Lap
63 Laps
7th
Qualifying
George Russell
1:15.234 Fastest Lap
18 Laps
6th
Lewis Hamilton
1:15.504 Fastest Lap
20 Laps
8th
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The Circuit

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, or more commonly known as ‘Imola’ is a circuit with a lot of motorsport history. It held its first Grand Prix in 1980, replacing Monza as the Italian Grand Prix that year, before being renamed the ‘San Marino GP’ and hosting F1 between 1981 and 2006. The venue made a return to the calendar in recent years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and has signed a contract until the end of 2025.

Lewis holds the lap record around this 4.909km circuit, with a 1m 15.484s lap he set in 2020.

The track consists of 19 corners, and is super fast with an old school feel. It’s been known to punish mistakes with gravel traps and barriers never far away, especially with the variable weather conditions we’ve seen here in the past few years, but it’s a thrill for the drivers. Despite the narrow track making it difficult to overtake in spots, Lewis has previously labelled Imola as “phenomenal” and “unbelievable” on how fast it feels over a single lap.

Since its return to the calendar, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has thrown up a mix of weather conditions. The first event in 2020 was held in November and remained dry but cloudy, but in 2021 and 2022, with the race in Spring, heavy rain fell which made for a wet and extra challenging circuit. However, the worst of the weather occurred last season when the event was cancelled as a result of local flooding in northern Italy.

As well as the many highlights and great races this circuit has brought us, we can’t visit Imola without thinking of the tragic weekend of 1994. In two separate incidents over the race weekend, F1 lost two of its brightest stars: Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. After their deaths, several changes were made to the circuit including chicanes at the Villeneuve corner where Austrian Ratzenberger lost his life, and at the Tamburello corner after the passing of three-time World Champion, Senna.

  • First GP
    1980
  • Circuit Length
    4.909km
  • Race Distance
    309.267km
  • Laps
    63

Everything You Need To Know: Imola

Formula 1 visits Europe for the first time this season, and will make a return to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, commonly known as Imola. The 4.909km circuit runs anticlockwise and is a true old school track with very high speeds. Although its narrow design can make overtaking a challenge, we’ve been treated to some amazing races here in recent years.

A lap around here is a mix of medium to high speeds, downforce levels are average for what we see over a season and there is balance of longitudinal and lateral forces on the car. There’s also a slightly abrasive track surface but generally track evolution remains fairly standard.

Weather can be very unpredictable, something that was proven last season when the whole race weekend was cancelled because of heavy flooding in the Emilia Romagna region.

One of the highlights of our time here came in 2020, when Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas managed to finish one-two and secure us our seventh consecutive Constructors' World Championship!

F1 gets back to the regular schedule this weekend, with no Sprints after back-to-back events in Shanghai and Miami. You can expect two practice sessions on Friday, followed by another practice on Saturday and then Qualifying before the big race on Sunday.

Our Successes

We have only visited Imola three times since its return to the calendar in 2020, but in that space have had many special moments at this circuit.

Perhaps the most memorable was during that first year, when we sealed our seventh consecutive Constructors’ World Title in 2020. It was a huge moment for the team, and done thanks to the brilliant work of both Lewis and then-team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

VB started the Emilia Romagna GP from pole position, his fourth of five poles that season, and led the pack for the first 19 laps before making his first pitstop. Lewis was comfortable with his tyres so went on a longer stint, and ended up being able to box when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed.

As a result of the time-saving, he emerged ahead of Valtteri and Lewis was able to claim his 93rd career victory, and so far our only win as a constructor in Imola.

The year after Lewis achieved pole position, but suffered damage on the first lap when he was forced wide and over kerbing which broke part of his front wing, yet would still finish in second.

In 2022, the race weekend featured a Sprint, and saw a great comeback drive from our very own George Russell. George had started the Grand Prix in 11th, but was able to push his way up the pack to finish just shy of the podium in fourth.

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