Formula 1 moves on to Imola this weekend for Round 7 on the calendar, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Ahead of the race, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with statistics, driving pointers, strategy tips and plenty more.
Free Practice 1 and 2 will take place on Friday, May 16, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, May 17, and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, May 18.
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Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Imola is a fantastic circuit. It’s steeped in history, and you feel that as you’re driving around it. It’s punishing – short run-offs of grass and gravel – so there’s not a lot of room for error, and plenty of tough corners as well.
The chicanes early on are probably slightly more straightforward than some of the other parts. Piratella is quite quick, blind towards the exit as well, and that can be a track limits issue if you drop too far wide out of there. And the fact is, a lot of the track is quite tricky.
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Acqua Minerale is tough as you have to make sure not to carry too much speed into Turn 12, and then you have to get the kerbs right at Variante Alta. If you avoid the kerbs too much you lose performance, so it’s threading the eye of the needle through the kerbs, trying to get maximum performance, but not bouncing the car towards the wall, which is quite close on the exit.
And again braking for Turn 17 catches you out very easily, particularly early on in practice when you get used to it, because it’s quite steep and there’s gravel on the outside. It just lures you to brake too late. This is a classic challenge and a favourite for fans and drivers.
ONBOARD: Max Verstappen’s 2024 Pirelli Pole Position Award lap at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Verstappen took pole position and race victory at the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
Pirelli will bring the softest trio of compounds in its range to the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the C6 making its debut as the soft while the C5 acts as the medium and the C4 the hard.
The tyre supplier’s weekend preview reads: “Homologated for use at tracks that stress the tyres the least, the C6 could provide even more grip over a flying lap, especially as the Imola surface is less abrasive than average.
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“It’s hard to imagine it being used for a race stint, but data gathered in Imola and then from Monaco and Montreal, will allow the Pirelli engineers to evaluate it for other Grands Prix in the second part of the season.”
Reflecting on the characteristics of the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the preview adds: “Tyre management is affected by the many acceleration and braking points, with tyres subjected to a low average load and limited degradation.
“However, the high kerbs can increase mechanical stress, especially on the suspension and tyres. Because of the limited overtaking opportunities, Qualifying plays an important role, as does finding the right race strategy.”
And in terms of strategy options, Pirelli have said: “Last year, the one-stop strategy proved the most competitive. 15 drivers started the race on the medium (C4), three on the hard (C3) and two on the soft (C5).
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“The harder compounds worked best, offering very consistent performance, with limited degradation, despite track temperatures above 50C. Those who started on the soft had to make two stops.
“It will be interesting to see if going one step softer in terms of compounds compared to last year will have an effect. There is only one DRS zone with limited opportunities for overtaking elsewhere, added to which the pit lane is the longest on the calendar in terms of time. All these factors combine to make a one-stop the obligatory tradition at this circuit.”
A one-stop strategy proved the most competitive during last year's visit to Imola
McLaren were a commanding force last time out in Miami, with Oscar Piastri leading team mate Lando Norris in a 1-2 finish that saw Piastri cross the line a staggering 37.644s ahead of third-placed George Russell.
This result bolstered Piastri’s advantage at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, where the Australian now holds a total of 131 points to sit 16 points clear of Norris in second while Max Verstappen is on 99 in third.
Last year’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix confirmed McLaren’s step forward as Norris took the fight to Verstappen right to the end – but with the team being the hunted rather than the hunter this time around, can they continue to hold off their rivals this weekend?
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Speaking of Verstappen, the Dutchman has good form at Imola, having won three of F1’s four visits to the track since it returned to the calendar in 2020. And as his pole position in Miami outlined, the Red Bull driver can never be discounted.
Elsewhere, Mercedes bounced back from a slightly weaker outing in Saudi Arabia with Russell’s podium at the Miami International Autodrome. As rookie Kimi Antonelli prepares to race in front of his home crowd for the first time this weekend, can the Silver Arrows give the Italian fans something to cheer about?
And in terms of local supporters, this will also be Ferrari’s first race on home soil of the season – as well as marking Lewis Hamilton’s debut Italian event since switching to the Scuderia. What can the home favourites achieve at Imola?
Other headlines include the return of Franco Colapinto, who replaces Jack Doohan at Alpine for the next five rounds. Will the driver change have an impact in what remains a tight battle in the midfield?
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This is a track that has seen triumph and tragedy over its decades of hosting Formula 1 Grands Prix.
Back in 1994, Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger both lost their lives in separate incidents here on a fateful weekend that cast a long shadow on F1. But there have been joyous moments at Imola as well.
This week we thought it would be fitting to pick Fernando Alonso’s battle against Michael Schumacher in 2005.
Scroll down to join the two-time World Champion as he watches it back.
Alonso watches back his epic battle with Schumacher in Imola 2005
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