Featured Image by Marpol on Wikimedia Commons
The Portuguese Grand Prix, held a fortnight ago, saw Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes emerge victorious, while Valtteri Bottas finished second, and Max Verstappen rounded off the podium. Hamilton’s win saw him eclipse Michael Schumacher’s race win record of 91 wins, while dealing yet another blow to Valtteri Bottas’ title fight.
This weekend, we find ourselves in Italy for the third time this season, with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Formula One returns to the historic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for a one-off event, after a 14 year absence.
Ahead of the weekend’s first on-track action, we take a look at things to lookout this weekend
The Circuit – Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, also simply known as Imola, is a permanent motorsports complex located outside the town of Imola. The track is named after the late Enzo Ferrari, and his son, Alfredo Ferrari.
The track features a total of 2 configurations, a Grand Prix circuit, and a Motorcycle circuit. Formula One will use the 4.909 km Grand Prix circuit, without the Variante Bassa Chicane. The circuit is no stranger to Formula One, previously hosting the San Marino Grand Prix from 1980-2006. However, the circuit has undergone changes since Formula One’s last visit, with the elimination of the Variante Bassa Chicane on the Start/Finish straight in 2008, alongside a new pit complex with a longer pitlane.
Today, Imola features a mix of medium to fast corners, alongside a series of elevation changes in the second sector. A Single DRS Zone is located on the start/finish straight.
Things to Watch:
Overtaking
How much overtaking can we expect to see this weekend? For Formula One fans who desire to see some overtaking action, the outlook appears to be not so good….
Imola is circuit with a reputation for being hard to overtake at, and with a single DRS zone, it appears like that we will only see overtakes on the start/finish straight on the run to Tamburello…
How will a lack of data affect teams?
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Weekend will be held over 2 days, unlike the traditional 3 day weekend. Will this affect the pecking order?
Earlier in the season, the Eifel Grand Prix saw Friday running curtailed due to weather, resulting in just 2 days of on-track running, alongside a single practice session. From the Eifel Grand Prix, we can make the following deductions: In the front of the field, expect to see little to no change in the pecking order. In the midfield however, expect to see a potential shake up in the pecking order, as the close performance of the cars leave little room to error for those teams…
Alex Albon
With pressure mounting on the Anglo-Thai driver, things are not looking good for Alex Albon. A lowly 12th placed finish at Portimao has done him no favours in his bid to keep his seat for 2021. Can Alex Albon turn the tide and close the gap to teammate Max Verstappen? Expect the young driver to come across intense scrutiny once more this weekend…
To prove he is worth keeping at Red Bull, Albon needs to qualify & finish in no lower than 6th, while ensuring he is not beaten by an AlphaTauri…
