The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix only joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2020 but Imola has yielded some unforgettable moments over the years, so here are five of the best.
F1 returned to Imola for its first visit since 2006 amidst the Covid-interrupted 2020 season in search of additional races. The track already owned a spot in the series’ history after hosting the 1980 Italian GP while Monza was renovated, before staging the San Marino GP 26 times.
Imola delivered for Formula 1 from the very first Emilia Romagna GP, as well, to earn a long-term deal. Lewis Hamilton won for Mercedes on F1’s return to the circuit officially called the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in 2020, en route to his seventh drivers’ title.
Hamilton edged Valtteri Bottas to win an incident-filled Emilia Romagna GP in 2020 by 5.783 seconds after his then-Mercedes teammate sealed pole position. So, with that in mind, here are the five most unforgettable Emilia Romagna GP moments to unfold around Imola so far…
Max Verstappen suffers a tyre blowout at the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP
Max Verstappen got a great start at the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP as the Red Bull ace passed Lewis Hamilton before they reached the Variante Tamburello chicane after getting a superior start. But the Mercedes star got ahead and into the lead after pitting under a VSC on Lap 30.
Second place was Verstappen’s once more on L43, however, after Valtteri Bottas drifted into the gravel exiting Rivazza One. It left the Finn exposed to the Dutchman into the first chicane on the following lap. Yet disaster awaited Verstappen on L51 as his race ended in the gravel.
After edging clear of Bottas, a rear-right tyre failure saw Verstappen spin entering Villeneuve as he hit the brakes. The Red Bull pilot’s day was done and dusted in the gravel, while Bottas regained second place and readied an unsuccessful attack on Hamilton after the safety car.
George Russell spun out of the points under the safety car at the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP
A full safety car period to recover Max Verstappen’s stricken Red Bull during the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP left George Russell running in the points for Williams. But the Briton would not score his maiden points in F1 at Imola as he spun into the wall on the run to Acque Minerali.
Russell admitted he made a ‘stupid mistake’ trying to warm his worn, hard compound Pirelli tyres behind the safety car. He got slightly overzealous applying the throttle on the downhill path into Turn 11, which spat him nose-first into the wall and out of the Emilia Romagna GP.
Max Verstappen gets his elbows out on Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP
Formula 1 returned to Imola in round two of the 2021 campaign but Max Verstappen sought to put down a firm marker for his title-rival, Lewis Hamilton, at the Emilia Romagna GP. Even though the Red Bull ace started third on the grid with Hamilton on pole next to Sergio Perez.
Verstappen got by far the better start among the trio to jump Perez and claim the inside line against Hamilton for Tamburello. But the Mercedes racer refused to yield the lead at a rainy Imola. So, Verstappen ran deep and forced Hamilton onto the sausage kerbs as he hung on.
The title rivals tapped wheels, before Hamilton’s trip over the kerbs left the Briton bouncing and damaging his front wing. Hamilton also learned his lesson from trying to hang in around Verstappen’s outside at the restart on L7 after Nicholas Latifi crashed out of the Grand Prix.
Verstappen ultimately won the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP with a 22-second lead on Hamilton in P2. The Mercedes driver’s charge ended on L31 after sliding off the road at Tosa trying to lap George Russell. He lacked the grip on slicks to run off the racing line in damp conditions.
Hamilton’s trip through the gravel trap forced the Briton to stop for a new front wing. But a safety car period triggered on the same lap as his off ensured the Stevenage-born star only fell to eighth place. Hamilton carved his way back up the order over the final 28 laps for P2.
Valtteri Bottas and George Russell collide at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP
A huge crash involving Valtteri Bottas and George Russell on the run to Tamburello required a safety car period which rescued Lewis Hamilton’s race at the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP. The Mercedes and Williams drivers collided at very high speed while they fought for ninth place.
Russell relished a brilliant slipstream from Bottas along the home straight to attempt a move around the Finn’s outside. But Bottas drifted over slightly to hug the thin, dry racing line and in his quest to avoid his Mercedes rival, Russell moved to his right but dipped onto the grass.
The lack of grip on the damp grass spat Russell straight into Bottas, punting the Finn into the barriers and showering debris all over the track. Race control would red flag the 2021 Emilia Romagna GP to clear the track as Russell walked away bopping Bottas on the head in anger.
Russell also claimed after the race that he asked Bottas, ‘If he was trying to kill us both’, after confronting the Finn whilst he sat in his ruined Mercedes. The Briton was irate with how the Finn had jinked to his right just after the Williams racer had made his move for the overtake.
Charles Leclerc ruins his podium chances at the 2022 Emilia Romagna GP
Formula 1 returned to Imola for the 2022 Emilia Romagna GP for round four of the year with Charles Leclerc leading the championship by 34 points after winning the Australian GP. But a Sprint event and a disappointing Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen shave his lead to 27 points.
Leclerc finished the Sprint just 2.975s behind Verstappen after the Ferrari driver failed to get ahead of the pole-sitter. But the best the Monegasque would manage in the Emilia Romagna GP was P6 after ruining his hopes of a podium finish with a spin at the Variante Alta chicane.
Heavy rain before the race proved costly as Leclerc lost places off the grid due to the inferior grip on the dirty side after qualifying in P2. He fell to P4 before the safety car came out after his teammate, Carlos Sainz, got stuck in the gravel trying to stay in front of Daniel Ricciardo.
The track drying later allowed Verstappen to build a lead but Leclerc remained in a fight with Sergio Perez over P2. Yet on Lap 53 of 63, his pursuit of the Mexican saw the Scuderia star make the error as he took too much of the inside kerb at Turn 14, spitting his car into a spin.
Leclerc managed to turn his car to make side-on contact with the barrier and avoid suffering any race-ending damage. But the contact broke his front wing and he returned to the circuit in P9 after a pit stop. Leclerc could only recover to sixth place and 56.072s from Verstappen.
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