2024 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Preview: Imola Round Returns

The European leg of the 2024 Formula 1 season will begin this weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, one of the 2 Italian races on the current calendar, 1.

The race was originally intended as a special one-off race in 2020 to make up for the scheduled race canceled due to the pandemic, but has proven to be very popular and has now become a permanent part of the calendar. It is also in the backyard of Ferrari, so it attracts a lot of Tifosi every year.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled last year due to severe flooding in the area. This year, it took place over 63 laps of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, commonly known as the Imola, which serves as the Round seven of the Championship and previously hosted the Italian and San Marino Grand Prix.

The Imola has a counterclockwise track layout spanning 3.08 miles, very narrow in location, adding overtaking challenges and focusing on strategy. It has a bumpy surface and even though the current configuration has some full throttle sections, more than 70% of the maximum downforce cellaps are taken at full throttle.

Some minor changes have been made to the track this year. The spill area at turn 9 was removed and replaced by gravel traps, and the asphalt spill areas at the exits at turns 11, 12, and 13 were also reduced in favor of gravel. The exit of turns 14-15 Chicane became a run-off area on the tarmac, not a gravel trap.

Looking at the weather forecast, we expect sunny but cloudy conditions for both Saturday qualifying and Sunday races. According to the tire company, Pirelli named the softest compounds - C3, C4, and C5 - because the force applied to Imola's tires is not very extreme.

Entering the weekend, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen leads the 2024 Drivers' Championship by 136 points. The same red Bull driver Sergio Perez is 103 points in 2nd place, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is 98 points in 3rd place. In the Constructors' Championship, against Ferrari's 187 and McLaren's 124, Red Bull leads by 239 points. The previous winner at Imola was Max Verstappen, who was driving for Red Bull.