#1061 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

The 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race held on Sunday, April 24, 2022, at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. Officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna 2022, it is the first Grand Prix weekend of the 2022 season in which the Formula One Sprint Racing format is used. The race is won by Max Verstappen, ahead of Sergio Pérez and Lando Norris, respectively. It marks Red Bull Racing's first 1–2 finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, as well as Verstappen's second career grand slam. He starts from pole position, after winning the sprint race from first position on Saturday and set the fastest lap while leading every lap of the Sunday race he wins. Championship leader Charles Leclerc finishes sixth, while his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. retires on lap 1 after a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at Turn 1. This is the only race in the 2022 season where a driver outside one of the top three constructors achieves a podium finish. On April 22, 2022, the FIA publishes the guidelines. effective from the first race of the season in Bahrain- that all drivers must follow when overtaking to avoid being investigated by the stewards. In the case of overtakes both inside and outside, a car being overtaken must leave enough space for the car attempting the pass; the overtaking car must have a significant portion of its side alongside the car being overtaken. These guidelines also apply to overtakes in chicanes and S-curves. Before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, at Maranello, on April 21, 2022, Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that it has extended its agreement with Carlos Sainz Jr., who made his debut with the Maranello squad in the 2021 season, keeping him with the team to the end of 2024.

"I am delighted to have renewed my contract with Scuderia Ferrari. I have always said that there is no better Formula 1 team to race for and after over a year with them, I can confirm that all my expectations have been exceeded. Putting on this race suit and representing this team is a great honour for me and I really look forward to keep enjoying our journey together. My first season at Maranello was solid and constructive, with the whole group progressing together and the result of all that work has been clear to see so far season. I feel confident and hugely motivated after this renewal as it shows the trust in me and now, I can’t wait to get in the car, to do my best for Ferrari and to give its fans plenty to cheer about. When I joined the team in 2021 the goal was to help Ferrari get back to the winning ways and to fight for both Championships. Now, the F1-75 is proving to be a front-runner, which truly allows me to chase those goals. I have said several times that I believe we have the best driver pairing in Formula 1 and so, with every passing race, it seemed a completely natural step to extend Carlos’ contract, thus ensuring stability and continuity. In his time so far with the team, he has proved to have the talent we expected from him, delivering impressive results and making the most of all opportunities. Outside the car, he is a hard worker with an eye for the smallest detail, which has helped the whole group to improve and progress. Together, we can aim for ambitious targets and I’m sure that, along with Charles, he can play a significant part in fuelling the Ferrari legend and will write new chapters in the history of our team".

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director of Scuderia Ferrari, states that:

"I am also aware that I am not solely responsible for successes or failures. We are a team and I feel like one of many elements. We have all reacted together, we have always remained united. And that gave me the push, we had the skills to be competitive. We had already proven it in 2017 and 2018 and we have grown since then. But I also knew that we would have to go through two seasons of sacrifice before we took the redemption opportunity of the new rules. We now have tools that are predictive and able to quickly identify a problem and its cause. They will be critical to developments as well. I feel the trust of John Elkann and Benedetto Vigna, otherwise I would not be here. I have a relationship of trust and transparency with them. The constructors' championship represents the solidity of a team. To be clear: a drivers' title would be extraordinary, but I think our objective goes beyond that. I see hunger, not just the desire to win a single GP or a title. Much more. We want to bring Ferrari back to being a model for F1, for the adversaries. Representing a model, this means Essere Ferrari, feeding the myth of Ferrari being a reference in every field".

Sainz Jr. provides further details about the agreement reached with the Maranello-based team, which had already established during the winter:

"To be honest, it was easy for both parties after such a good first year as we had. Having the opportunity to make the announcement in a place like Imola, in front of the fans and on a weekend like this, I think it was ideal. Anyway, it's no secret that it's important for a driver to have his mind completely focused on performance, without focusing too much on what the future holds. Since I discovered this aspect at McLaren, I have been very explicit about it. I already had my certainties throughout the winter, and as a result I had no worries in the first few races".

Regarding the Australian Grand Prix, the Spaniard driver admits:

"It was not a great weekend because there were many external factors, but you have to know how to react in the best way. Sooner or later a mistake had to happen, I was coming from I don't know how many consecutive races with points. This will make me stronger. It's better that it happened at the beginning of the season, I can learn and use the experience for the next 20 races. Ferrari is now not only the best team in F1, but also the best team to be in at the moment. We are winning so much, we have the fastest car on track in most sessions. Signing a two-year deal with the best car on the track is good. I've always felt I was in the middle of the fight and with 20 races left anything can still happen. What I do know is that I'm not missing much [to be at Charles' level]. I fought for pole in all the races. I missed maybe a tenth in Q3. I'm a little short, that keeps me motivated. Charles has done an outstanding job with this car. He's making a difference as a driver, but I don't feel far behind. I know I'm up against a very strong challenger, but even though I don't feel completely comfortable with the car yet I'm still close there. As soon as I can make that click everything will get easier".

The real turning point of the season is undoubtedly linked to the challenges currently facing Mercedes. In this regard, Toto Wolff states:

"Melbourne was a great weekend for Formula One, the atmosphere was incredible, and it was wonderful to be back in Australia in front of so many fans. For us, the race went better than we expected, especially after a difficult Friday. George and Lewis were both on strong form all weekend and delivered a useful haul of points for the Team. We learned a lot and really maximized the opportunities available, and that's what we need to keep doing. We know we haven 't got the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull right now. But we're working hard to reduce their advantage, and it's been brilliant to see everyone across the factories pulling together to achieve this. There's been a lot of hard work over the Easter weekend in the factory to bring improvements to the car and get it ready to head to the next race, and that shows the team's dedication to turning the situation around. Of course, we must be realistic, it will take time to make the gains we want, but we ' re learning as much as we can from each race and finding avenues to push us forward. Now we look ahead to Imola and the first Sprint event of the season. It's an historic, old-school circuit with a challenging layout that the drivers really enjoy. Qualifying is important owing to the narrow track, while its sweeping nature really puts the cars to the test. We're looking forward to seeing how 2022 machinery tackles Imola".

The two practice sessions are each scheduled to last one hour. The first practice session begins at 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday, April 22, 2022. The second practice session starts at 12:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, April 23, 2022. The first practice session ends with Charles Leclerc setting the fastest time ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen. The session is red-flagged twice due to the wet conditions, which cause spins at turn 12 by Lando Norris and later by Valtteri Bottas. 

In the second practice session, George Russell sets the fastest lap ahead of Sergio Pérez and Leclerc. Qualifying takes place at 5:00 p.m. local time and is scheduled to last one hour. Unlike the 2021 season -when the qualifying session for the Formula One Sprint determined the grid for Saturday’ starting grid and the Sprint winner was considered the pole-sitter for the Grand Prix, the 2022 regulations state that the driver setting the fastest time in qualifying is considered the pole-sitter, regardless of the sprint results. The first qualifying session is red-flagged with 12 minutes remaining after Alexander Albon's brakes catch fire at turn 14 due to an incorrect switch setting, scattering debris across the track. Only ten drivers have set times before the red flag, leading to congestion once session resumes. The drivers eliminated are Albon, his Williams teammate Nicholas Latifi, the two AlphaTauri drivers, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly, and Esteban Ocon in the Alpine. The second part of qualifying is red-flagged after Carlos Sainz Jr. spins at Turn 18 and collides with the outside barrier. Although his time is fast enough to advance to Q3, he is unable to participate in the session due to the crash, leaving him tenth. Drivers eliminated are Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher, and notably George Russell and Lewis Hamilton- marking the first time since the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix that a Mercedes car has failed to reach Q3. In Q3, three additional red flags occur, bringing the total in qualifying to five - a new record. The first is triggered by Kevin Magnussen spins at Turn 12, one of several drivers to experience difficulties in that track section. The second red flag is deployed when Valtteri Bottas's Alfa Romeo suffers an issue, forcing him to stop to the side of the track at Turn 16, with only three minutes remaining. Max Verstappen, who is on pace to set the fastest lap, slows down due to the yellow flags but still completes his lap to beat Charles Leclerc's time by 0.7 seconds; a red flag is shown before Leclerc can finish his lap. Drivers rush to improve their lap times; however, with less than a minute remaining, Lando Norris spins at Turn 12, ending the session prematurely, leaving the drivers with no more chance to improve their lap times. Verstappen sets the fastest lap ahead of Leclerc, the championship leader, who qualifies in second. McLaren's Norris qualifies third and Magnussen, driving for Haas -a team that had not qualify higher than 14th in 2021, secures P4, marking the best qualifying result in team’s history. Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez qualifies seventh, behind Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo, while Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, and Sainz complete the top ten. At the end of the qualifying, the World Champion Max Verstappen expresses his satisfaction with his team’s performance:

"It was good out there today but also very easy to make mistakes, so luckily we mainly stayed out of trouble. We started on the slicks initially and then it started raining again, making the right call on how you wanted to prep your laps was key today and ultimately, we chose the right one, so I’m of course very pleased with that. When I saw the yellow flags for Valterri I immediately lifted so there won’t be any trouble there, it does cost you lap time but luckily the lap was still good enough for pole. Tomorrow looks to be dry and we haven’t really driven these new cars a lot in the dry here so hopefully in FP2 we can understand the car a bit more in different conditions".

For Sergio Pérez, it was a disappointing performance:

"Overall, it’s a disappointing day but we need to remember it’s just the start of the weekend. It just didn’t seem to work out for me today; we got a few things wrong. It was important to get the temperature on the tyres and we couldn’t seem to get the right-out lap; we were just warming up the tyres and then we had another red flag. I am pleased with the pace of the car though, I am looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully we are able to progress through the field during the sprint and get a good start position for the race on Sunday".

Christian Horner praises Max’s performance in today’s unusual qualifying:

"Max did a super job today, it was an unusual qualifying and the one lap that turned out to count was thankfully the lap we banked and there was just too much rain for anyone to respond".

Lewis Hamilton is disappointed about today’s performance. He states that:

"Today wasn't a great session and naturally it's disappointing. We came here with optimism; everyone is working so hard at the factory but things just didn't come together. I think we underperformed as a team today. We'll work as hard as we can to move up in the Sprint Race. It's going to be a difficult race but who knows? Maybe we can move our way forwards. Each weekend is a rescue at the moment".

Sebastian Vettel is pleased with today’s performance as it was his first time in Q3 in 2022 and comments:

"I am pleased with the job we did today. It was my first time in Q3 in 2022 and the first time this year for both cars in Q2, which is a great effort by the team. It took a while to get comfortable, but by the first run of Q2 I was pretty happy. In Q3, I only had one clean lap. On the second attempt, I braked late and ran wide in Turn Two, and then it was all red flags from there. It is a shame it ended in a bit of an anticlimax, but we should be able to have a good weekend from here".

says Mattia Binotto regarding the timing of the red flags:

"We must always believe in the work of the FIA. There is a penalty if the referee blows the whistle. However, if we look at the first four red flags of yesterday, an average of 15 seconds elapsed from the incident to the display, while on that occasion almost 40 seconds elapsed. We are sorry, also thinking of Australia, where for a couple of seconds Carlos was unable to complete his lap. If the red flag had come out two seconds later in Melbourne, it could have changed his weekend. These are situations that have happened and in this case, they were unfortunate for us. The group of sporting directors certainly needs to make their bones. I think that at this moment the best way for them to gain experience is to adopt a cautious approach. You also have to understand them; they are not born unlearned. On their part, there is certainly a desire to do well. I think the decision is always difficult, as it was for Masi in Abu Dhabi. In their place it is never easy nor obvious, so we have to believe in their work and try to help them when we believe that some things could have been done differently. It is a commitment that we as Ferrari have always taken. We have a good relationship with the Federation and we confront each other after every race. On the last run there was no chance to improve, everyone was slower than the previous run. Regardless of Norris, there would have been no change. From our side there is a bit of regret, because after the first lap Max continued to push, while Charles slowed down to preserve the tires for the following laps. I think that if he had pushed, he could have done better. Then you can't always guess, maybe if there wasn't the red flag he would have been right. I think that in difficult conditions like yesterday, being second on the grid is still an important base. If I look at the past seasons, we have always had difficulties in the wet, but this was not the case yesterday. Usually when a car is strong in the dry, it is also strong in the wet. If we were struggling in the rain in previous years, it's because the car wasn't even good enough in the dry".

Mattia adds that they are now experiencing a situation similar to what they went through in the past, particularly during the 2020 season. Despite working well, the team continues to face criticism because the results have not met expectations:

"Over the years I've never laughed and you couldn't laugh. I think when you're in a situation like we've been in the last two years, where you're taking criticism and not getting the results you want, you can't smile. The 2020 season was really one of suffering and when one is suffering you can't laugh. There was hope, though, because I had faith in this team, I could see that it was working well and so there was hope that we could really come back in 2022 with a competitive car. But you can only verify this when you go on track: Formula 1 is not an absolute sport that depends only on yourself, it also depends on what others do".

He also states:

"You can be confident in your team working well, but you can't be sure about what others are doing. We have to remember what history has been. There have always been cycles. I was there in '99 and in 2000, when we didn't win the title for 21 years. Now we haven't had a title since 2007 and although it hasn't been 21 years, the situation is very similar. There are cycles that follow each other and as there were difficulties then, so now there are for us. If I look at 2017, however, it was an important year, because there had been a significant change in the regulations, with the increase in the track of the car, and the team had been able to make a very good product, able to fight at the beginning of the season with Mercedes, which until then had never had rivals. This is the same team that had been able to make that good practice in 2017. Since then we knew that we had to grow: we have progressed in experience, with a good exercise of the analyses of our limits and weaknesses and we also had shareholders who had the courage, the desire and the will to invest in these years not only in patience, but also in resources and tools necessary to grow to be able to make in 2022 the car that we see today".

On Ferrari’s team behaviour, he states:

"I never had any doubts about who made me do it, for two reasons. First of all, I don't think that my role is more important than that of someone else: we are a team and everyone makes his own essential contribution. I've seen a team that has remained united in the face of difficulties and this has given me the motivation to believe and move forward. It's very difficult to open a cycle, but there's no doubt on our part that there is at least the will to try".

About the three regulations, Mattia Binotto states:

"The financial regulations are new, complementing the technical and sports regulations. Today we have three regulations. The financial director is just as important as the technical one, because both have to manage a regulation. I'm not saying there are gray areas, but how one applies it is as much an element of competitiveness as the technical part. It is important to be attentive and, above all, for the FIA to make sure that everyone applies it fairly. I think the FIA has to make an extra effort on this front. It is a new regulation also for it, so when you go to make controls, the Federation must gain experience on what and how to control. From our side we try to help, because we think it is fundamental that these controls are conducted in a thorough manner. I don't want to contradict Carlos, but if we look at last year, he adapted better than many riders who had changed teams, but it still took him a few races to reach his maximum level. I think that this year too it's part of his attitude to study and learn step by step, so much so that I'm convinced he'll get there very quickly. Already in Australia, regardless of the circumstances that have occurred, he was very fast and able to fight for the pole. Yesterday he also had the potential to take pole: looking at the times he did in difficult wet conditions; he was already very fast. So, I think he is already adapting quickly to this race. If we ask ourselves about two races of adaptation, we are talking about nothing. Charles, on the other hand, has a natural talent of his own in being able to adapt to the track and to all conditions. This natural talent of his is emerging".

According to Binotto, it is early to assess the true performance of the Ferrari team, which he expects will become evident after five or six races:

"I still think the real values will be seen after five or six races. To date we have only run three Grands Prix and to make a judgement would be hasty. I think we have to wait for Barcelona at least, because all of us, including the drivers, will have a better understanding of these cars and how to extract their potential. All of us will also bring some corrections and those who had problems at the beginning of the season will have time to correct them from here to Spain and only there I think we will have a more definitive judgment".

He states:

"Having said that, we're off to an encouraging start: it's not like the balance will change between now and Barcelona, but there could be some changes. We are not yet in the right place with regards to the wheel hop and it is a performance limitation, also because it takes away the drivers' confidence, and it is a potential for development. Solving the porpoising definitively would be a step forward for us, even if it is not the only one. I see it difficult for Mercedes to reach our level, because today if you look at their performance, they don't have a single problem and I see them struggling a bit. They will definitely catch up: they are a strong, solid team and they won the last world titles. I'm sure that sooner or later they will correct and get back to being competitive, but for this year I see it as a difficult exercise".

Overall, he states, what matters in these first races is scoring points, being satisfied with the result, and consolidating them:

"I think it is always important to think about the points and the satisfaction of the result must be a consequence. I think that in races like these at the beginning of the season, when you have a car as good as ours, the priority is to finish the race, because if it doesn't work out, you end up fourth and those are always important points. Rather than taking risks to gain a position, it's better to consolidate. I think our drivers have embraced our team concept and they know how important it is for the team to maximize the points haul. Then I always repeat it with each of them: if making one of ours win means preventing Verstappen or one of the others from doing so, it's always a good thing. Our real rivals must remain the others and must not be internal to the team. I am convinced that an order would be shared. I think the one between Charles and Max is a beautiful rivalry. If not this season, where it already exists, it will be in the next and I think that this is the beauty of this Formula 1. There is a generational change going on, with young drivers with great talent who have always fought. As a Formula 1 fan, I think it's great to experience that".

After yesterday’s qualifying, the drivers are ready for the Sprint Race, which will decide the positions on the grades and will allow the top eight drivers in the sprint classification to earn additional points for the race to the 2022 Championship. The race consists of 21 laps, covering 4,900 metres of the Enzo Dino Ferrari’s circuit. The grid positions reflect yesterday’s qualifying results. All drivers will start on red soft tyres, except the two Haas cars and Latifi, who opt for the yellow medium tyre. During the formation lap, Alonso encounters a problem and is initially unable to start. He must to cross the start line before all other drivers; otherwise, he would be required to start from the pit lane. Fortunately, he manages to get his car work and retakes his position back. Greenlight turns on. Leclerc and Norris immediately challenge Verstappen, whose start is not perfect, as he appears to slip slightly: 

"Lovely gear sync that".

Remarks the World Champion sarcastically to his team. Verstappen complains that Red Bull has been dealing with similar problems for the past two years. Leclerc manages to pass Verstappen, while the Dutch driver resists Norris’ pressure to maintain the P2. At Acque Minerali, Alonso battles Ricciardo. Suddenly, yellow flags appear in the second sector as Zhou’s car stops at the exit of Piratella Turn near the barriers. The safety car makes his entrance on the track when Gasly’s Alphatauri develops a puncture in the front-right after a contact with Zhou’s Alpha Romeo. “He can’t stay there”, Gasly tell his team. The safety car could present a potential issue for the Ferrari drive Leclerc, as the Reb Bull car is 10 km/h faster than Ferrari. Even without DRS, Charles may struggle to resist Max’s pressure at the race restart. Zhou retires from the race will start in P20 tomorrow. Magnussen manages to control his car after a minor contact with Ricciardo and Checo Pérez.

An investigation is opened because Magnussen and Pérez appeared to make waves on the straight before Turn 1, while Formula 1 Regulations allow only a single change of direction. Tsunoda and Ocon gain three positions, while Pérez gains two. After four laps behind the safety car, the sprint race restarts on lap 5. The drivers go toward the first variant and Leclerc manages to defends his position against Verstappen. Sainz pressures Alonso at Tosa Turn but Alonso lengthens the pace. Meanwhile, Magnussen receives a white-and-black flag for weaving on the straight. A further violation during the race could result in disqualification. Max maintains a strong pace, but Leclerc gradually extends his gap. With fifteen laps remaining, race directors allow DRS activation at Turn 18 before the straight. Sainz attacks from outside Alonso, the two drivers are wheel-to-wheel but Sainz succeeds to pass him to take P7. Checo Pérez overtakes Magnussen, who is at 1.4 seconds from the Mexican. Checo passes him in Turn 1 on the straight, using the DRS, takes P4, and sets his sights on Lando Norris. Bottas overtakes Vettel to take P9 and begins chasing Alonso. Hamilton drops from P13 to P14. Sainz could potentially use the DRS on Ricciardo and decides to exploit this opportunity, getting closer to the McLaren driver but not enough to pass him. Magnussen defends against Ricciardo’s pressure. Verstappen is trying to get as close as possible to Leclerc but he is more than 1 second far from the Ferrari (1.257). Checo engages Norris: the two drivers are wheel-to-wheel but he manages to win the duel against Norris. Now Leclerc has the two Red Bulls at his back. Ricciardo succeeds to pass Magnussen and takes P5, while Sainz passes the Haas driver too at lap 12. During lap 13, the gap between the first two drivers seems to increase. Ricciardo is almost one second faster than Norris is. 

Sainz decides to engage the Australian in a battle and succeeds to take P5. Since the start of the race, Carlos gained five positions. However, Norris is too far and it seems impossible to fill the +4.683 gap to Norris. Verstappen is constantly reducing his gap to Leclerc, from +1.345 to +1.161, then to +1048 seconds. Bottas tries to pass Alonso but the Spanish driver uses the DRS and puts his car in the middle of the track. A new white and black flag arrives but this time for Alonso, who made weaves on the straight. Thus, Bottas can finally pass Alonso. Sainz is retrieving one second in each lap to Norris. Now that he is at +3.517. Verstappen is not giving up his chance to take the pole position as he is at +0.989. He cuts the chicane and finally can use the DRS at five laps remaining, while the Ferrari team informs Charles that he is having some issues due to graining. Verstappen opens the wing and gets closer. Sainz decides to battle Norris at +1.320, as the McLaren car is slower than the Ferrari, and takes P4. With three laps remaining, Verstappen is really close to Leclerc. At lap 20, in Turn 3, he opens his wing and overtakes from the outside Leclerc. The Ferrari driver attempts to stay close to the Red Bull and use DRS at six-tenths behind, but the graining of his red tyres prevents a counterattack. The sprint race concludes with Verstappen winning and securing 8 points. “That’s it right?” he asks his team, who confirm with a laconic “Yes”. Leclerc is in P2 (7 points), followed by Checo (6 points), Sainz (5 points), Norris (4 points), Ricciardo (3 points), and Bottas (2 points). Magnussen is the last driver to get points in P8, and gains just 1 point. Behind him, the Alpine driver Alonso and the Haas driver Schumacher. Russell is in P11, followed by Tsunoda, Vettel, Hamilton and Stroll.  Ocon is sixteenth, Gasly seventeenth, followed by Albon and Latifi. The last driver is Zhou, who had to retire his car. Leclerc remarks to his team “it is weird. We have had more graining”. Although confused due to the issues they had today, the Ferrari driver waves to Ferrari tifosi, who supported the team both during yesterday’s qualifying and this Sprint Race. On Sunday, Verstappen and Leclerc will start together on the front row. Max Verstappen expresses satisfaction with his team’s performance, particularly considering the issues he faced at the start of the race:

"We did well as a team and it is of course a positive day for us. I didn’t have the best start so we need to investigate what happened there but after that we had good race pace. Initially for the first 10 laps or so it seemed like the gap to Charles wasn’t really growing but then I think at one point the tyre degradation started to kick in a bit more and I could close the gap and I got ahead. Tomorrow is a new day and there are no guarantees, I still expect it to be very close and I the battle tomorrow will be difficult. We are very focused on what is ahead and we hope to do a good job tomorrow".

Checo is pleased with his P3. The team managed to minimise the damage from qualifying and he was able to get a strong start and to progress through the field:

"I am happy with the result of the sprint and looking forward to tomorrow starting from P3. We managed to minimise the damage from quali so I am happy with that, it was a nice save and it was all we needed for today, anything more would have been a bonus. I got a really strong start and after that I was just progressing through the field, it got a bit messy with Daniel when we touched, but overall, it was a nice sprint for me and we got some good overtaking done. I think there is some fine tuning we can do for tomorrow and hopefully we are able to do it to be in the mix for the win, which is the target. We certainly have good pace and I am looking to produce another solid weekend for the Team, hopefully we can come out on top against the Ferraris. We have seen in Melbourne and we have seen here already that it can change fairly quickly so either team can turn things around and we certainly expect the Ferraris to be strong. I got really close to Charles today near the end but it was just a sprint so let’s what we can do over race distance".

Christian Horner is pleased with both Red Bull cars being at the front of the grid:

"It was a great performance today by both drivers. All credit to Max, he kept his head, stayed patient and kept his position on the tail of Charles, we could see the Ferrari’s front tyre was starting to go, and when his opportunity to take back the lead came, he took it. Checo drove well today and made great progress up the grid to take some valuable points and put himself in a better starting place on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Max didn’t have the best start, but we’ve got the data from today, so we’ll need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes tomorrow. But the good thing is we’ve now got two cars up at the front of the grid and we’ll hope to capitalise on that".

Charles Leclerc explains that the reason for tyres’ graining was due to excessive push at the start in an effort to widen his gap over Max:

"The Sprint taught us some valuable lessons ahead of tomorrow’s race. My start was really strong, and then I got out of Max’s DRS zone by creating a gap and was confident until we started to have some graining in the closing laps. We may have paid the price for pushing too hard at the start, so that’s something we have to work on tonight. If we manage to cure that, it will be a good fight tomorrow".

Carlos Sainz Jr. is relieved with today’s performance:

"Today was a good day and I’m fairly happy with the comeback. The start went well and then I was able to pick up places one at a time, with strong pace and good tyre management all the way. It was a solid Sprint race but most importantly, we are back in a good position for tomorrow. After a difficult day yesterday, I want to thank all the tifosi for their support. It’s such a positive boost. The weekend is still not over and I will give everything tomorrow to deliver a good result".

Laurent Mekies, Racing Director of Scuderia Ferrari says that:

"It was a particularly busy Sprint from our point of view and the most important aspect of it was to have got Carlos back onto the second row, after he did a good job of moving up the order from tenth. Charles got a perfect start and was running at a very strong pace in the opening laps, although not quite enough to distance the Red Bulls. That’s why, in the closing stages, when he had a bit more tyre graining than Verstappen, he was unable to fend him off. Carlos was very adept at executing the race to the letter, in the way we had planned". 

He also adds that:

"He got off the line well and then he waited patiently in the opening laps before picking off all the cars ahead of him that were realistic targets. Having him on the second row is important for the whole team because it puts us on equal terms with our closest rivals in what I expect to be a very tactical race. We will see some cars running quicker at the start of the stints and others that will be stronger towards the end. We have to take all these factors into consideration and work out the best possible strategy. The race looks to be open and we want to give it our all to repay the many fans who have come to the Grand Prix to thank them for their support, not just this weekend, but especially when things were not going that well for us".

George Russell is not satisfied with team’s performance. Although they had good pace, they were not fast enough on the straight to make significant progress:

"It wasn't very enjoyable for us today and it was difficult to overtake; we had some good pace but not the speed in a straight line to really make progress. The sprint races are very short and there isn't time for the tyres to start degrading, creating differences between drivers and cars, opening up opportunities. We didn't make strong starts today which is unlike us, we've made solid starts recently. Strategy is going to be key tomorrow, we'll have to do something different to our competition, that will give us opportunities to fight and move up the grid. It's been a difficult weekend so far for us, tyre warm-up has been difficult, we need to get on top of things and capitalise on what is possible tomorrow".

Lewis Hamilton acknowledges that the team is working hard to overcome difficulties and improve the car. He says that most of the people who have been working with his team for 20 years have been through these difficulties begore. Thus, they simply need to continue working hard and progressing through the year:

"Today is what it is - a lot of work is going on in the background but ultimately, we haven't got it right yet this year and everyone is working as hard as they can to correct it. The team have been through many, many tough years. Most of the people that I'm working with have been with this team for more than 20 years, so they've been through it. It wasn't the greatest of years in 2013 but we've had great years since then. We stick together; we try to motivate everyone. This is the situation that we are faced with and everyone's got their heads down, working. We are fighting to understand the car and improve and progress through the year. That is all we can hope for right now".

Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, states:

"What we saw today was a car without enough of a performance differential to the midfield cars to make the overtakes. If we were running in free air, the picture would be similar to previous races where we moved forward but behind the cars in a DRS train, the car didn't have enough performance to make progress. Point-scoring needs to be the minimum for tomorrow and we know that isn't anywhere near our expectations, so it's a humbling experience. We understand our problems, we have a direction to unlock the potential that is within the car to bring us much closer to the front but at the moment, we don't have the key. Therefore, you just need to grind away and rely on the science and the physics. The passion and determination to improve is there in every team member".

On Sunday, April 24, 2022 the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is held. Despite good weather that graced the fans at Imola in the morning and clouds that clear during the laps to the grid, there is still a risk of precipitation in the air. 

After taking first position in the Sprint Race, Max Verstappen lines up ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz Jr. starting third and fourth. Zhou Guanyu starts from the pit lane. The lights go out under a grey sky. All cars are on intermediate tyres. Verstappen leads the start, followed by Pérez, while Daniel Ricciardo collides with Sainz at Tamburello, pushing the Ferrari out and requiring the intervention of the Safety Car. Leclerc drops fourth behind Lando Norris, who overtakes him at the Turn 2. Kevin Magnussen goes from eighth to fifth position, ahead of George Russell, who climbs from eleventh to sixth. The opening lap also sees Lance Stroll going from fifteenth to eleventh position, while team mate Sebastian Vettel is up to ninth from thirteenth. The race restarts on the fifth lap. Red Bull occupies the first two positions, while Norris holds third ahead of Leclerc. This order persists until lap 8, when Leclerc overtakes Norris on the main straight. Verstappen is three seconds ahead of Checo, with Leclerc a further three seconds back. Russell, having gained five places thanks to a brilliant start, starts a battle with Magnussen for fifth. He chases the Haas from lap 11 to 13; Magnussen almost loses out to him at the second turn on lap 12, but still keeps his place. The Mercedes finally overtakes him at Variante Alta with a move on Lap 13. Bottas capitalised on this battle, overtaking Magnussen a lap later at Rivazza to take sixth. Back at the front, Leclerc is 1.3 seconds behind Pérez, who is in turn six seconds behind his team mate on Lap 15. There is no rain yet so tyres are struggling. Ricciardo takes the risk to pit for mediums on lap 18. Ferrari’s crew then gets ready for a pit but Leclerc does not enter the pitlane for a new set. Red Bull decides to pit Pérez for mediums. Leclerc remains on track and he is just ahead of Pérez, but the Mexican’s tyres are now warmer and he goes past into the opening chicane. It is clear that Red Bull’s strategy is right, and they are back on course for the first two places. With no DRS, Leclerc struggled to reclaim the second position, while Verstappen continues, now 9.5 seconds in the lead. On lap 34, the track conditions are dry enough for DRS to be enabled.

Verstappen continues to lead the race alone, extending his advantage to 12 seconds over his team mate, and lapping Hamilton in fourteenth position on lap 41. On lap 50 Leclerc pits for soft tyres, while Pérez and Verstappen pit for the same compounds on the subsequent laps. Pérez mounts a strong defence to maintain his second place but a pivotal moment occurred on lap 53: Leclerc spins and taps the wall at Variante Alta. This causes him to pit for a front wing replacement and costs him to drop to ninth. He manages to recover to sixth position with late passes on Vettel and Tsunoda. Verstappen wins by 16.5 seconds over teammate Pérez, finding his way back into the championship fight with a decisive victory. Norris secures the final podium spot for McLaren. Russell finished fourth, 0.6 seconds ahead of ex-Mercedes driver Bottas. Yuki Tsunoda, who overtook Magnussen on lap 48 and Vettel on lap 54, ended in seventh place, earning useful points for AlphaTauri. Vettel and his teammate Stroll completed in eighth and tenth respectively complete the top ten so Aston Martins can bring home points, having entered Imola without any. Between them Magnussen finishes ninth. Alex Albon took the eleventh position for Williams: his pace on mediums was good enough to keep AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly behind by 0.6 seconds, while Lewis Hamilton ended thirteenth. Esteban Ocon finished eleventh from sixteenth, but is classified fourteenth, due to a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release during his pit stop, which saw the Alpine bang wheels with Hamilton’s Mercedes in the pit lane. Zhou Guanyu’s Sprint crash saw him start from the pits and finish fifteenth for Alfa Romeo, ahead of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi in sixteenth. Mick Schumacher spun at the start and again on lap 25, in a duel with Latifi, finishing seventeenth. After his accident with Sainz, Ricciardo was the first driver to pit for slicks. The Australian came in once again for a set of hard tyres but finishes eighteenth. Alonso and Sainz are the two retirees. Verstappen made a better start in Emilia Romagna and, together with team mate Pérez, ran for the first two places for almost the entire race. Verstappen dominated the weekend, taking first in the Sprint and winning on Sunday, and securing the bonus point for fastest lap:

"To have a weekend like this for both of us with a one-two for the Team is just incredible. It was a very lovely Sunday! Everything today was well executed, coming into the weekend I didn’t expect it to be like this. It was more or less a perfect weekend, everything went well for us and we’ll of course enjoy today. I scored the maximum amount of points this weekend and we can be really proud of that as a Team; it’s a great boost. Today was all about judging the conditions, making the right calls and staying very focused and I think we did that very well. We need to keep focused and we know that at the next race we need to be up there again and keep this going".

Pérez had a tougher race than his teammate, with Leclerc pressuring him for most of the race. However, the ability to extract pace from the car when needed, combined with excellent tyre management, allowed the Mexican driver to secure another podium finish:

"It was a tough race but an enjoyable one. Rule number one in these conditions is to finish. It was difficult because in these conditions it is easy to make a mistake and put a foot wrong but we managed a clean race and kept out of trouble, which was pretty important. I got a great start and the restart was good too, then I think the Team did a great job with strategy out there. On the intermediates I was really thinking to save the tyres but the degradation was high and Charles was really fast towards the end of that stint so I was happy to just keep him behind. The race was pretty intense with Charles, he was always within an undercut range and when we thought we had him under control he boxed and made things a lot harder for both of us. We were both pushing with cold tyres and, in fairness to Charles, it was easy to make mistakes. We have had such a difficult start to the season with reliability concerns and DNFs, so it was really important we brought it home today - it is a great result for the Team".

Christian Horner is pleased of the strong result and performances of the two Red Bull drivers, who have driven brilliantly to secure a one-two finish:

"This has to be one of our best ever results, to take the maximum points across the whole weekend, bar one, was incredible. Both Max and Checo have driven brilliantly to secure our first one-two finish since Malaysia in 2016. I’m very proud of the entire team, from everyone at the track and those back in the factory at Milton Keynes, they delivered a phenomenal performance, it’s just what we needed to rebound from Australia. It’s a long season and we’ll take a lot of confidence from this result and try to build on it in Miami in a couple of weeks’ time".

Norris started from a strong third position, pushing Leclerc out and running in third until the Ferrari recovered. From that point on, fourth place seemed assured as he drove a relatively lonely race, until Leclerc’s mistake handed him the final podium spot:

"P3, what a result! We certainly didn’t expect that coming into this weekend, so I’m happy to be leaving with a podium. It’s been a tricky weekend, but the team recovered well to put me in a good position for today’s race. I had a good start and was managing my tyres to the end. At that point we were on for a P4, which would still have been a great result. We got a bit lucky with the issues ahead, but we did what we needed to do to be in a position to take that opportunity. Great work by the team at track and back at the factory, great pit stops and a great result. On to Miami".

The contact with Sainz Jr. at the start dropped Ricciardo to the back of the field. He was the first to switch to the slick tyres but was unable to make any progress:

"It was a great result for Lando. However, it was one of those Sundays for me unfortunately. At Turn 1, I thought I got hit but it was actually me getting on the kerb. I then slipped off it and went into Carlos [Sainz], before being bumped by Bottas. We had a bit of damage and struggled for the rest of the race. It’s a painful one and it’s never nice to be involved in incidents. There’s not much more to say. Just one of those Sundays. We’ll celebrate Lando’s podium and learn what we can as we head to Miami".

Team Principal Andreas Seidl thanks the team for their hard work in securing Lando’s podium. However, he expresses disappointment over Ricciardo’s collision with Sainz, which damaged the car and compromised his race:

"P3 for Lando today comes as the result of hard work and a well-managed strategy. He drove a great race today. After a good start, he worked very hard, looked after his tyres, managed the gap to the cars we were racing and put himself in the best position to take advantage of any opportunity that came his way. Unfortunately, Daniel had a first lap collision with Carlos [Sainz] which damaged the car and his race was pretty much over, but he was able to provide useful information to the team to maximise our result. The performance we saw this weekend on a different track and in a variety of conditions confirms the potential of the MCL36 that we have been unlocking race by race. That said, we remain realistic about the work we have to do to close the gap to the front of the field. Also, our pit-crew again delivered good pitstops. My thanks today to the entire team, here at the track and back home at the factory, together with our colleagues at Mercedes HPP. It’s been an intense first Sprint weekend of the 2022 season. We head home now to reset, analyse what we have learnt here and prepare for our first visit to Miami".

George Russell made an excellent start, moving from eleventh on the grid to sixth - a decisive move that shaped his race. He managed to pass Magnussen to run in fifth, then gained another position after Leclerc’s spin:

"I'm relatively pleased to maximise the points available this weekend. Whether we're getting the most out of the car is a different story and I do think things have fallen slightly in our favour with these first four races. I'm really happy with this P4, but if we want to sustain this position in the championship, we need to find more pace. We've got these overall limitations with the car with the bouncing, and we know that we are struggling with the tyre warm up and this is the coldest race weekend we've had by far this year. I think it's been a bit of a trend since Bahrain, we've progressively gotten a bit slower in qualifying, and I think that's because Bahrain is the hottest we've experienced so there was no problem with tyre warm up. Then we want to Jeddah, and it was still hot, but the track was a bit smoother. Melbourne, a bit cooler. Here, very cold. And that's when you see the McLarens, Alpines, and Haases coming into their own but then struggling a bit more in the race. We need to find a better compromise because we were fortunate today, we had a decent result, but ultimately, we were starting far too low on the grid".

Hamilton dropped back at the start and, just as he began to recover, had to pit for slick tyres. He then lost time when Ocon was released into his path, and subsequently remained stuck behind Gasly, unable to find a way past:

"This was a weekend to forget, that's for sure. Behind Gasly, we both had DRS so it was impossible to overtake, and I lost a few places in the pit stop. This weekend, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We live and we learn, and there's not much else to say. I'll keep working as hard as I can to try and pull it back together, somehow. I hope for a better weekend in Miami, it will be difficult but I'll try and get myself in a positive headspace for the next one".

Toto Wolff acknowledges that the team must work hard to provide the drivers with a faster car. He admits there are still many issues to solve but remains hopeful for the next race and the future:

"What is clear from the entire weekend is that we have work to do to deliver our drivers a quick enough car. We saw with George what our car can do in clear air but it's still not good enough. We missed out on adjusting George's front flap at the pit stop due to an issue which meant he had a car that was setup for wet for the majority of the race so a great drive from him to hold on the P4 at the end. For Lewis, it was a simple case of us not giving him the tool he needs. He was squeezed by the Alpine, and undercut at the pitstop, which left him in a DRS train where it was impossible to overtake with our car. We are not producing a car good enough or worthy of a World Champion like Lewis so we need to look at things for Miami, make a step forward in our understanding and bring development to the car to fix our issues".

Carlos Sainz Jr. had a poor start, ending up side by side with Ricciardo. Initially, the McLaren was ahead, but when it ran wide in the slippery conditions, it forced the Ferrari into a spin, sending Sainz in the gravel in a racing incident:

"This was an unlucky day. I braked well into turn 1, leaving enough space to my left, but unfortunately Daniel (Ricciardo) lost control of his car a bit and hit me from behind, throwing me into a spin and into the gravel. It’s a big shame because we were up for a good race, but there is nothing else I could have done differently at that point to avoid it. It’s tough to take, as today I wanted to have a good race in front of our fans. For the last two races things haven’t gone our way at all, but I’m still confident we can turn it around. There are many races ahead of us and you can be sure we will keep pushing. On to Miami".

Charles Leclerc lost position to Pérez at the start. Pressuring the Red Bull Racing car throughout the race, he eventually ran too wide over a kerb and spun into the barriers. As a result, the extra pitstop for a new front wing dropped him to ninth, though he managed to recover a few positions before the finish:

"It was a very tricky race. Third was the best result we could have secured today, as our competitors were very strong. I struggled on the soft tyres but when I saw an opportunity to overtake Pérez for second, I went for it, pushing a bit too much, when I should have stayed put to secure those points. We will analyse all the data and come back stronger".

Mattia Binotto expresses disappointment, as the team strongly hoped to achieve better results in Italy. The drivers had poor starts and some issues were also caused by the pitstops. He states that the team will continue to extract all the potential from the cars in view of the next stop in Miami, and adds that:

"Of course, we are disappointed as we wanted a better result than this in front of all our fans. It was a difficult race. Our drivers did not get perfect starts, possibly being on the worse side of the track. Charles’ first pit stop was not the best either, which meant he was back out on track without the gap that might have allowed him to fend off Pérez and then he made a mistake trying to overtake him. Carlos was very unlucky at the start and for the second time in a row, he was unable to finish the race. It’s a real shame, not just because of the points lost, but also because he’s completed very few kilometres in the last few Grands Prix. Nevertheless, we will not lose heart and we will continue to work calmly. We wanted to give the fans something to cheer about, as they packed out the grandstands and the fields with a sea of red to support us here at Imola. Naturally, we are disappointed not to have managed that, but there will be other races and opportunities to put a smile on their faces. Now we look forward to Miami and a new track, which makes it an even more compelling prospect. We will continue to work hard to extract all the potential out of the F1-75 and to optimise the updates that we will be introducing in the coming races".

The next stop will be the Miami Grand Prix, scheduled for May 6-8, 2022. This new era of Formula 1 visits a brand-new circuit. Max Verstappen has claimed a valuable victory, now moving up to the second place in the drivers' standings behind Leclerc.