Johannesburg - F1 returns to its old haunts this weekend with the first of its European events at Imola in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Here, Morgan Bolton looks at five factors to consider ahead of what is shaping up to be an intriguing race.
5 So overtaking it
Although at times a fast track, Imola is not renowned for overtaking, making it the earliest and truest litmus test for the new rules and regulations so far this year.
The track remains unchanged from previous iterations, so the tight and twisting layout will be a pretty good indicator of how much the new design has improved drivers’ chances of overtaking.
The ground effect seems to be working, and cars are following each other much closer without having to battle the “dirty air” of previous seasons, but whether that will translate into more wheel-to-wheel racing this weekend, remains to be seen.
Traditionally, drivers have had scant opportunities when overtaking at Imola, the main line of attack down the DRS-enable main straight but maybe, just maybe, we could see some more action at the backend of the circuit this weekend.
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4 Kerb your enthusiasm
The fastest lap at Imola is heavily reliant on drivers attacking every inch of the track, and that includes a lot of kerb-riding. It is an old-school layout with old school designs, including high-mounted corners.
In previous seasons, drivers could attack these turns mercilessly with little consequences but that might not be the case this weekend. Due to the new car design and the fact that ground effect is in use, there might be a more cautious approach as the field rotates the circuit, as damaging the under-carriage of the cars in any way will end a driver’s ambition and session.
3 The sprint is back
Much maligned, the yet-to-excite Sprint race is back on Saturday … yay …
In any event, and as a result, qualifying is on Friday at 3.50pm, with the Sprint scheduled for Saturday at 3pm. In their grand wisdom, the FIA have increased the points for the Sprint to include the top 8 drivers, and not only the first three, meaning that first place now get a healthy eight points in the drivers’ championship.
Moreover, inclement and wet weather is expected on Friday, which could mix the grid up for the Sprint and have a massive impact on the outcome of the starting grid of the race on Sunday, which is also forecast to have a splattering of rain on the day.
Here, the dark horses are the Alpine duo of Fernando Alonso and Estaban Ocon, who have had a decent run in the season-opening rounds.
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2 Tifosi-packed
The hysteria surrounding Ferrari is near fever-pitch as they head to the first of two home races; and you should expect only a sea of red this weekend.
It has been rather lekker watching the Scuderia do the business in the opening three races, and you wouldn’t be a fool to back the Prancing Horse again this weekend. They are believed to be around 0.8 seconds faster than their nearest competitor at the moment and with Charles Leclerc in fine form; and teammate Carlos Sainz this week extending his contract with the team for another two years, there is every reason to suspect another victory for them.
Ferrari haven’t won at Imola since 2019 just before it all went horribly wrong for them, so a triumph here will lay down a good marker that they are truly on their way back up.
1 Power-unit underwhelming
Mercedes might be having problems that they cannot find immediate solutions to, but at least seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and boy-wonder George Russell are finishing races.
It has ensured that the Silver Arrows are currently second in the constructors’ title, behind Ferrari. They are nowhere near the pace that will as of yet contest victories, however.
The same cannot be said of defending champion Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
It has been a torrid start to the season for the Woking-based outfit, Verstappen in particular has not finished two of the three races so far, exiting the Bahrain and Australian GPS rather unceremoniously. He did win in Saudi Arabia with an impressive drive but Red Bull Powertrains has not had the auspicious start that all and sundry were expecting of them after pre-season, and they seem to be battling major reliability issues.
They certainly have the pace to keep up with Ferrari, but at the moment their efforts are translating into blood, sweat and tears on the track, instead of flesh on the podium. A good weekend at Imola, however, will immediately silence their critics.
@FreemanZAR