Emilia Romagna GP Recap: Red Bull Takes Ferrari’s Home Race
Ahead of this weekends Miami Grand Prix, relive the drama of what happened last time the drivers graced a circuit.
For the first time since the jittery days of the initial pre-season testing in Barcelona, which marked the start of the era of the new rule, F1 is back in Europe. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix marked the first leg of the European part of Formula 1 and the first sprint event of the year.
While the Tifosi turned out in force for another Ferrari show, Red Bull made all the headlines. Max Verstappen and Red Bull had a near-perfect weekend maxing out all the top points, whereas Ferrari and Charles Leclerc faltered.
Red Bull’s Dominance
Red Bull’s perfect answer to their Australian Grand Prix disaster came in Imola. In Australia, even before his retirement, Max Verstappen couldn’t match Charles Leclerc for ultimate pace or in-race tyre management. In Italy, it was the other way around. Red Bull was able to swap on its tyres more quickly than its red opponent, which Verstappen took advantage of to secure his first pole of 2022. His tyres stayed in better form in the sprint and later in the GP. The Dutchman led Red Bull to their first one-two since October 2016.
Ferrari Nightmare
Ferrari seemed serenely in control heading into its first home grand prix of the 2022 Formula 1 season. However, at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Charles Leclerc and Ferrari had a poor day in front of a raucous home crowd.
Leclerc’s woes were exacerbated by poor grand prix start and a spin, which turned a definite third into a barely-salvaged sixth. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, had another early departure in the gravel, but this time not of his own design.
McLaren’s Ricciardo made a strong start from the less grippy side of the grid, battling for fifth place with Carlos Sainz. The McLaren driver had the inside line into the first corner, but as the Ferrari drove away, Ricciardo slid across the track on the slick, wet curb. He sent the Ferrari into a spin, thus ruining Sainz’s race and severely impeding his own.
McLaren Podium
After a slow start to the 2022 season in Bahrain, when McLaren was way behind the leaders, the Woking-based team has made a spectacular comeback to get closer to the front.
Norris started fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race, and after a strong start, he drove another mature and clean race across the 63 laps. Despite finishing fifth in the sprint, he earned his first podium finish of the season on Sunday, finishing behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Norris has now finished on the podium at Imola for the second year in a row, putting him in sixth place in the Drivers’ Championship, considerably ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 11th.
Aston Martin’s First Points
Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll grabbed Aston Martin’s first points of 2022 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday. The duo left Italy ecstatic to put numbers on the board.
Vettel, the four-time champion, earned four points in P8 after fighting off Kevin Magnussen, while Lance Stroll earned another point in P10. And that came after a mediocre Sprint result on Saturday, with Vettel finishing P13 and Stroll finishing P15. However, because of the wet conditions at the start, the drivers were able to leap right into the top 10, with Vettel going as high as seventh before Charles Leclerc passed him at the finish.
Hamilton Out
“I’m out of the championship for sure. There’s no question about that.”
It’s difficult to dispute Lewis Hamilton’s four-race self-assessment, given that he is now 58 points behind the championship leader Charles Leclerc.
For the seven-time champion, Emilia-Romagna had been particularly difficult grand prix. He’d qualified 13th in the wet, slid to 14th at the end of the dry sprint, and only gained one spot in the mixed conditions race when two cars in front of him withdrew.
