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Imola Grand Prix 2022: A Review



 Rolex Gran Premio del MADE IN ITALY E DELL'EMILIA-ROMAGNA 2022, as the F1 purists call it, and all the newbies who got into F1 after watching "Drive to Survive" on Netflix just call it the Imola Grand Prix. It is a track with great history and some of the best and worst moments on an F1 track. This is an old-school classic track with fewer overtaking opportunities as there is only one DRS zone, but this year, after the changes in cars and rules and regulations, we got to see more overtaking on "chicanes". So let's get into it.

 
Some of us expected this race to be tedious and long, but then it rained, and it became exciting. A little rain can cause some changes in a race, such as pit strategy changes, less grip on tires, and thus car spinning, no DRS, and a Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen racing in rain masterclass. 

 


Imola Track Layout



All the teams had the time to work on their cars after a hot Australian GP, weather-wise and especially for the Red Bull team with Max Verstappen's car. And work they did. Thankfully, their engine did not betray them this time, nor did any kind of fluid leak, and Max had a perfect weekend in and out. Ferrari was confident when they arrived in Imola as it was one of their home races in Italy and one of their drivers, Carlos Sainz, had extended his contract to 2024. Their other driver, Charles Leclerc, was flying high, being at the top of the driver's championship before the Imola GP and still is, but with less lead.
 

 

It started off with qualifying, which was on Friday, so my weekend started early. Max got lucky with the red flag in Q3. I have to agree with that, but he still went on to have a perfect score, qualifying on pole position, winning the sprint, and winning the race. On the other hand, both the Ferrari drivers had a bad weekend, especially Carlos. He crashed out in Q3 on Friday, had an average sprint finish in 4th, and crashed out in the opening lap of the race on Sunday. Charles also had a bad race, but a better one as compared to his teammate. He finished 2nd in the qualifying, 2nd in the sprint, and on Sunday he spun 6 laps before the end and finished P6, where he should have been P3. 
Max and Charles were competing till the last lap of the sprint, and it was a great sprint because it was the first time ever there was an overtake for the lead after the opening lap of a sprint. How fascinating.



Daniel Ricciardo finished P18 after crashing with Carlos Sainz on the opening lap


 
Enough about the table-toppers, now let us talk about the Mid-Table fiasco, all your Alpha-Tauris, Alpines, Haases, Aston Martins, and, surprisingly, one Mercedes, too, of Lewis Hamilton.
What happened with Lewis Hamilton was sad to see, but it had to be a poor performance from both the car and the driver. The Mercedes may not be the strongest vehicle on the grid, but that doesn't explain the seven-time world champion's poor performance. It raises a question because his teammate, George Russel, finished P4. Lewis, an eight-time world champion, has to fight back strongly, and he is capable of doing so if the car also supports him.
This season, the Aston Martin is the 9th quickest vehicle on the grid. Vettel drove that vehicle into Q3 after his teammate Lance Stroll was eliminated in Q2. Then, in the Imola GP, it was Vettel who made the difference in the wet weather, putting the vehicle in a position that allowed the underdog team to finish in the points.Valtteri Bottas had a fantastic weekend. The Finn was insanely quick in both the dry and wet, and we saw him maintain midfield leading speed for both the sprint and the race.
 


Lap Chart by Racefans.net

The guy who had the most boring race day until the 52th lap after Leclerc spun went on to have a fantastic finish, was Lando Norris. A podium was out of the question given McLaren's speed disadvantage over the front-running teams. It was one of those moments of the season, with Charles Leclerc spinning and gifting Norris the podium.
 
Max Verstappen snatched 17 points off Charles Leclerc's lead in a championship-caliber performance by the Red Bull driver.F1 fans leave the Imola GP optimistic that the 2022 Formula One title battle will be a fierce one like the last season.




 
 

 
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Comments

  1. StrivingtobeAverage1 May 2022 at 17:23

    So informative I read it twice (not because I didn't get it the first time)

    ReplyDelete
  2. StrivingtobeAverage1 May 2022 at 17:24

    now I know where the verstappen in marx.vertsappen came from 💀

    ReplyDelete
  3. StrivingtobeAverage1 May 2022 at 17:24

    Mountainboi is back 🤌🤌

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnyoneButVartik1 May 2022 at 18:51

    Ok so this was the race you were watching, and not the Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Khanna's Cult Classic

    ReplyDelete

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