The most successful team in Formula 1 plays at home: Imola is located less than 100 kilometers from Maranello, its historic headquarters, and it is the dream occasion to confirm the rebirth of the Scuderia during the first three GPs of the season.
Although Leclerc and the Scuderia dominate the drivers’ and constructors’ standings, with an advantage of 34 and 39 points respectively, the Monegasque keeps a cool head, in line with his style.
“We must approach this weekend as we have approached the first three. It is extremely important not to put more pressure on us,” he warned after his victory in Australia.
When does the Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix take place?
This Friday the classification for Saturday’s sprint was held at 11:30. Meanwhile, the final race will be on Sunday at 10, always on Argentine time.
The 24-year-old has made a mistake-free start to the season: winner of two of the three events (Bahrain and Australia), Leclerc’s worst result is second place in Saudi Arabia, behind reigning champion Max Verstappen.
In the championship, the Ferrari driver has already accumulated 71 points, ahead of George Russell (37), a new signing from Mercedes who occupies the surprising 2nd position. Leclerc’s teammate, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, occupies third position (33) and hopes to recover sensations in front of the tifosi after a weekend to forget.
In Australia, Sainz lived a weekend to forget. After a modest ninth place in qualifying on Saturday, the Spaniard lost control of his car at the start of Sunday’s race, leading to retirement.
On paper, the Italian single-seater holds the reins of the championship, but on the track it should be at the same level as the Red Bulls of the Dutchman Max Verstappen and his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez.
That equality should occur as long as the mechanical problems of Red Bull, along with the rain that is expected during the weekend, do not return to spoil the party.
Since the start of the season, the Austrian team has suffered from reliability problems, which has already led Verstappen to retirement twice (Bahrain and Australia) and Pérez once (Bahrain),
Without those problems, Verstappen, who is in 6th position in the championship with 25 points gained during his victory in Saudi Arabia, would be standing up to Leclerc.
With Pérez (30 points, 4th in the championship), the Red Bull drivers will try to reduce the difference in the hope of imposing themselves on their rivals’ fiefdom, as Verstappen already did in 2021.
How to watch the Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Star+ transmits all instances of the weekend.
Mercedes, prey to its difficulties in adapting its car to the original aerodynamics, will try to reiterate its performance in Australia.
The team, current constructors’ world champion, took advantage of Verstappen’s abandonment to classify Russell in third position and Lewis Hamilton in fourth.
Mythical name in the history of F1, Imola has hosted 27 Grands Prix between 1980 and 2006. It is on this circuit that the Brazilian Ayrton Senna lost his life in 1994, during a black weekend in which the Austrian also died Roland Ratzenberger.
Returning to the calendar in 2020 to alleviate several of the cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the race will be held this time as a replacement for the Chinese GP in Shanghai, still absent due to the health situation.
The test also marks the return on Saturday of a sprint race, a format inaugurated last season. In addition to Emilia-Romagna, this format will also take place in Austria on the weekend of July 10 and in Brazil on the weekend of November 13.
The classic time trial classification moves to Friday, to determine the starting order on Saturday of the sprint race, of 100 kilometers and approximately 30 minutes. The result of this test will determine the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday. The objective is to offer a greater spectacle throughout the three days.
These sprints also award points for the championship, with a prize of 8 units for the first classified up to 1 point for the eighth. This could be a blessing for Leclerc, who could add up to 34 points over the weekend, in case of a double victory (25+8) and fastest lap in the race (1 point).
Source: Ambito
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