Berman prepares to replace Magnussen in the first training session

The seventh round of the season takes place in Imola on the classic Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit, where the Formula 1 race took place for the first time in 1980 and was subsequently called the San Marino Grand Prix.

This was the case until 2006, then this circuit returned to the World Cup calendar in 2020 as the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna. Last year, the Imola race had to be canceled due to a natural disaster when regions in northern Italy suffered severe flooding, but now the circuit is ready to host Formula 1 teams again.

For Oliver Burman, Ferrari’s reserve driver who made a successful debut in Saudi Arabia, the weekend will be especially important as the 19-year-old Briton practices in a Haas F1 car on Friday. Last year he already worked with the American team, and in 2024 he will have to work in six training sessions – the first of which will be held in Imola, and now he will replace Kevin Magnussen.

Oliver Berman: “I am looking forward to returning to this team and will be working during the first Friday training session in Imola. Haas F1 is having a strong season and I hope that with the experience I have gained since our training last year, I can help the team continue to show the good form it is currently in.”

Nico Hulkenberg: “There is only the seventh stage of the championship ahead, but it feels like the season started a long time ago and the return to the European circuits gives me positive emotions. “I’ve never raced at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit before, so I’m happy to cross it off the list of unknown circuits, but it was a lot of fun driving there in the simulator.”

Kevin Magnussen: “Imola has a great circuit, one of those races that I watched in my youth and always wanted to race there myself. It’s great that she’s back on the calendar.

The last time we competed at this circuit the weekend went well (in 2022 Kevin earned points for 8th place in the sprint and 9th in the race). Overtaking at Imola is quite difficult, although that does not mean it is impossible. The result in qualifying is therefore more important than at most circuits of the season.

For the first time we will have a good opportunity to collect high-quality data on the operation of the car’s aerodynamic body kit, and this will be very useful work.

When you come to this circuit, it is difficult not to remember its history, as the tragic incidents of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna are associated with it. But racing a Formula 1 car on Italian circuits is always a special experience.”