Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: track and statistics

FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DEL MADE IN ITALY E DELL’EMILIA-ROMAGNA 2024
date Route Circle length Kroogov Distance
17-19/05/2024 named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari 4909 m 63 309,049 km
Official site

Imola is a small town in the plain east of the Apennines, at the center of all things motorsport in Italy – the factory floors of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati are very close.

In post-war Italy, four motorsport enthusiasts – Campagnoli, Golinelli, Montevici and Vigi – decided to connect local public roads, resulting in a track where local car companies could test their products.

Work started in March 1950 and a few years later Enzo Ferrari sent his sports car to Imola. In 1953 the first motorcycle race took place and a year later the assembled spectators witnessed an interesting battle between Umberto Maglioli in a Ferrari and Luigi Musso in a Maserati.

To gain Ferrari’s support, the Imola municipal council renamed the circuit in honor of Enzo Ferrari’s son Dino, who died of leukemia in 1956. This guaranteed patronage from Maranello, and within a few years money was found to complete the construction. stands and access roads. In 1979, a Formula 1 race that was not included in the championship was held here: the Dino Ferrari Grand Prix, which was won by Niki Lauda in a Brabham.

Emilia-Romagna not only has its own Grand Prix, but also its own language: Emilian-Romagna, related to Lombard, Piedmontese and Ligurian among the Gallo-Italian languages. According to the UNESCO atlas it is endangered.

In 1980, Imola replaced Monza as host of the national stage, and in 1981 the Italian Grand Prix returned to Monza. Regulations prohibited holding more than one Grand Prix in each country, so the idea arose to hold the Grand Prix of San Marino, a nearby small state, in Imola.

In 1981, the San Marino Grand Prix debuted in the championship, the race was won by Nelson Piquet, but it was remembered for the accident of Gilles Villeneuve, whose Ferrari flew off the track after a tire explosion and was actually torn in half. Fortunately, the driver was not injured and the bend was later named after him.

The 1982 race was spoiled by the confrontation between the teams and the championship leadership, and then by the conflict between the Ferrari drivers. Didier Pironi overtook Gilles Villeneuve, violating team agreements, and two weeks later the Canadian died in Zolder, Belgium after encountering Jochen Mass’s March in qualifying. A year later, Villeneuve’s friend Patrick Tambay, who replaced him at Ferrari, won the San Marino race with the same No. 27 car in which Gilles crashed.

Nelson Piquet in 1987 and Gerhard Berger in 1989 were on the brink of death, but luck turned away from Imola in 1994, when first Roland Ratzenberger crashed in qualifying and Ayrton Senna died in the race. When Formula 1 returned to the Italian circuit in 1995, instead of the Tamburello corner, Ayrton’s last, the drivers were greeted by a chicane.

Flowers at the place of Ayrton Senna's death

Formula 1 left Imola after the 2006 race – a major reconstruction of the circuit began under the supervision of Hermann Tilke’s architectural firm.

In the summer of 2015, when the promoters of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza were having financial problems, Imola tried to move the national podium to itself, but at the last minute the government backed Monza.

In February 2020, when it became known about the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix due to the pandemic, Imola again proposed their candidacy – and received permission. On June 12, the circuit was granted an FIA Grade 1 license and the stage was officially included on the calendar in July.

Due to logistical problems transporting equipment on the double stages in Portimao and Imola, the duration of the weekend was reduced to two days in 2020 and a full stage was held on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in 2021.

Last year the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was canceled due to flooding in the region; the stage will return to the calendar in 2024.

Track features

Imola is a typical acceleration-deceleration circuit. The racers drive two-thirds of the lap with the accelerator fully depressed, so a powerful engine, excellent brakes and efficient use of tires are the three key components of success in Imola.

The configuration consists of medium and fast corners, intersected by chicanes. The need to attack a fairly high curb forces teams to seek a compromise between the softness of the suspension and its stability at high speed.

The aerodynamics are tailored to a high level of downforce. The direction of travel is counterclockwise – as in Jeddah, Baku, Austin, Interlagos, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

The Imola circuit is relatively narrow, which makes overtaking difficult and forces teams to focus on strategy. The pit lane at Imola will be the longest of all Formula 1 circuits in 2024: 528 meters. Driving through it at the maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h takes 24.8 seconds.

The road has uneven asphalt and many bumps, which can worsen the problems with cars weaving on straight lines for those who have them.

Usually a lot is decided in the beginning. From pole to the first braking point at Imola, 605 meters is the third longest starting segment on the calendar this season.

There is little serious braking, but you do have to brake often. The brakes do not have time to cool down on the straights – the teams will adjust the cooling system to avoid problems in the race.

The last stage in 2022 was held in a Saturday sprint format, but now the format will be traditional, allowing the teams to work with new products during training, weather permitting.

Best results from the 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix sessions
Event Weather Racer Team Time
First workout Mostly cloudy. Drying track S. Leclerc Ferrari 1:29,402
Sprint qualification Cloudy. Rain M. Verstappen Red Bull 1:27,999
Second training Cloudy. Dry D. Russell Mercedes 1:19,457
Best sprint lap Cloudy. Dry S. Perez Red Bull 1:19.012
Best lap of the race Cloudy. Drying track M. Verstappen Red Bull 1:18,446

Weekend schedule

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Schedule of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Moscow time
Day Event Time
17/05 Formula 3: Training 10:55-11:40
17/05 Formula 2: Training 12:05-12:50
17/05 Formula 1: Car presentation 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
17/05 Formula 1: First training 2:30-3:30 PM
17/05 Formula 3: Qualification 16:05-16:35
17/05 Formula 2: Qualification 5:00-5:30 PM
17/05 Formula 1: Second training 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
18/05 Formula 3: Sprint (18 laps or 40 minutes + 1 lap) 11:05-11:50
18/05 Formula 1: Third training session 13:30-14:30
18/05 Formula 2: Sprint (25 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap) 15:15-16:05
18/05 Formula 1: qualifying 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
19/05 Formula 3: Race (22 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap) 09:30-10:20
19/05 Formula 2: Race (35 laps or 60 minutes + 1 lap) 11:00-12:05
19/05 Formula 1: Drivers’ Parade 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
19/05 Formula 1: Race (63 laps or 120 minutes) 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

Tire selection for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

This time Pirelli will bring the softest compounds to the podium: C3, C4 and C5 with the designation Hard, Medium and Soft.

Performance of current riders at Imola

Start of the 2020 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

Performance of current drivers at the Imola circuit
Racer GP Glasses Circles Best pool 1st row fast
circle
stage victory
All leader get started finish
F. Alonso 7 27 322 51 2 1 1 1 2 1
M. Verstappen 3 59 176 124 1 1 1 1 1 2 2
L. Hamilton 3 45 188 47 1 1 1 2 2 2 1
L.Norris 3 38 189 5 3 2
S. Leclerc 3 37 189 2 4 1
S. Perez 3 32 189 2 2 1 1
V. Bottas 3 thirty 156 18 1 2 1 1 1
D. Riccardo 3 23 188 5 3 1
K. Sainz 3 21 126 4 5
D. Russell 3 12 144 eleven 4
P. Gasly 3 6 133 4 7
L. Walk 3 5 188 10 8
E. Okon 3 2 152 9 9
Yu.Tsunoda 2 6 126 12 7
A. Elbon 2 125 6 eleven
K. Magnussen 2 3 110 8 9
G.Zhou 1 62 20 15
Hulkenberg, Piastri and Sargent did not participate in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix

Esteban Ocon: Imola has a real classic song. It’s great that she’s back on the calendar. This is a circuit with a rich history and traditions.

I love Italy – I lived there for a long time and always look forward to racing on Italian circuits, whether it’s Monza, Mugello or Imola! In 2014 I won the European Formula 3 title in Imola: I won the first race and was on the podium in the third.

The first sector is fast, there is no room for error and you need confidence in the car to attack during quick changes of direction.

In the second sector there is the famous right turn Acque Minerali, where the circuit goes first uphill and then downhill. These corners and curbs make it a difficult lap, but I am looking forward to the weekend and will attack from the first session on Friday.”

All Formula 1 events in Imola
date Route Pool Winner
24/04/22 Imola M. Verstappen Red Bull M. Verstappen Red Bull
18/04/21 Imola L. Hamilton Mercedes M. Verstappen Red Bull
01/11/20 Imola V. Bottas Mercedes L. Hamilton Mercedes
23/04/06 Imola M. Schumacher Ferrari M. Schumacher Ferrari
24/04/05 Imola K. Raikkonen McLaren F. Alonso Renault
25/04/04 Imola D. Button BAR M. Schumacher Ferrari
20/04/03 Imola M. Schumacher Ferrari M. Schumacher Ferrari
14/04/02 Imola M. Schumacher Ferrari M. Schumacher Ferrari
15/04/01 Imola D. Coulthard McLaren R. Schumacher Williams
09/04/00 Imola M. Hakkinen McLaren M. Schumacher Ferrari
02/05/99 Imola M. Hakkinen McLaren M. Schumacher Ferrari
04/26/98 Imola D. Coulthard McLaren D. Coulthard McLaren
27/04/97 Imola J. Villeneuve Williams H. Frentzen Williams
05/05/96 Imola M. Schumacher Ferrari D. Hill Williams
04/30/95 Imola M. Schumacher Benetton D. Hill Williams
01/05/94 Imola A. Senna Williams M. Schumacher Benetton
25/05/93 Imola A. Prost Williams A. Prost Williams
05/17/92 Imola N. Mansell Williams N. Mansell Williams
28/04/91 Imola A. Senna McLaren A. Senna McLaren
13/05/90 Imola A. Senna McLaren R. Patrese Williams
23/04/89 Imola A. Senna McLaren A. Senna McLaren
01/05/88 Imola A. Senna McLaren A. Senna McLaren
03/05/87 Imola A. Senna Lotus N. Mansell Williams
27/05/86 Imola A. Senna Lotus A. Prost McLaren
05/05/85 Imola A. Senna Lotus E. de Angelis Lotus
06/05/84 Imola N. Pique Brabham A. Prost McLaren
01/05/83 Imola R. Arnoux Ferrari P. Tambe Ferrari
25/04/82 Imola R. Arnoux Renault D. Pironi Ferrari
03/05/81 Imola J. Villeneuve Ferrari N. Pique Brabham
14/09/80 Imola R. Arnoux Renault N. Pique Brabham

Source: F1 News

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share article

Latest articles

Newsletter

Subscribe to stay updated.