Last year F1 had to cancel the Grand Prix in Imola after severe flooding put most of the track under water completely. Two people died as a result of flooding. Whether you like this track or not having F1 return to the track will have a much-needed positive impact on the community. Located in the Emilia-Romagna district in northern Italy a city with a population of just under 70,000 people. F1 made its debut in Imola in 1980, after hosting multiple non-points events since the track officially opened in 1953. Imola is historically a wet race with rain playing a factor in in the last three races.
A Dark History
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Imola is the place where arguably the most famous F1 driver died in a Grand Prix. In 1994 the legend Ayrton Senna lost control of his car in turn 7 also known as the Tamburello corner, a high-speed turn where drivers don’t need to lift the steering column on the three-time champions car broke causing him to lose control just before the turn.
Senna went off the track and hit the concrete barrier at approximately 145 miles an hour. The telemetry on Senna’s car showed Senna was on the brakes for roughly two seconds before hitting the wall. By the time the safety team got to Senna, he had already lost 90% of his blood from a part coming off the car that ruptured his temporal artery. Senna was just 34 years old and a three-time F1 Champion and 41-time winner. His home country of Brazil declared 3 days of mourning for the racing legend.
In the first round of qualifying in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed in a crash. Ratzenberger missed the chicane and unknown to him it caused major damage to the front wing as he took the next corner he lost control of the car hitting the wall at approximately 195 miles per hour. He hit the wall with 500g the highest G-force crash ever recorded in F1.
Verstappen Dominance
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Imola made its return to the F1 calendar in 2020 which was won by Lewis Hamilton. In 2021 and 2022 the race was dominated by Max Verstappen, winning the races by 22 seconds and 16 seconds respectively. Red Bull finished first and second, in 2022 Verstappen beat third place by Lando Norris by almost 35 seconds. It is hard to believe anyone not named Max Verstappen would have won last year if the race hadn’t flooded out.
Going off the 2022 stats F1 will bring the C2 (soft tires) C3 (medium tires) C4 (hard tires). The quickest strategy is starting on the yellow ring medium tires with the pit window being lap 22-29 and going on the white striped hard tires. The other one-stop strategy is starting on the red soft tires with that window being lap 13-18. Then the two-stop strategy starts on softs going to lap 12-17 the second stint on mediums with the window being lap 35-40 and finishing on a second set of mediums.
With the weather playing a factor in the last two F1 races it appears there’s a chance rain could play a factor in this one as well. There is a 25% chance of rain in the afternoon in Imola. Verstappen never being fazed by inclement weather this little bit of an advantage could fend off the hard-charging Mclarens whose upgrades they brought to Miami seem to have pushed McLaren to even with Red Bull if not slightly ahead.
F1’s Next Great Rivalry
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For nearly three years F1 fans have been begging for someone to step up and challenge the juggernaut combination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Red Bull winning all but 1 race in 2023. A dominant team isn’t a new concept in F1 from Lewis Hamilton winning six championships in seven years and Mercedes winning the constructors championship 8 years in a row.
The Verstappen era of domination is particularly damaging to the league because they have finally broken into the American market. F1 has been desperate to break into the American Market since the Indy tire debacle of 2005, F1 has been an afterthought in the minds of most Americans. That is until the Netflix series Drive to Survive took off in 2019. Also, the year-long war between seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton and the young and talented Max Verstappen captivated the world at every Grand Prix event in 2021.
Fans are hoping that Lando Norris can be the one to step up and challenge Verstappen and recapture the magic we saw in 2021. With the upgrades McLaren got, the rumored turmoil at Red Bull, and rumblings that Sergio Perez may be on the way out at Red Bull while Mclaren has their driver lineup set for years to come, could McLaren break the glass ceiling and capture another Grand Prix at the expense of the Dutch juggernaut Max Verstappen.
The F1 race in Imola is at 9:00 Eastern time on one of the ESPN2 and F1TV.
About The Author
Dillon Hildreth is a writer for Total Apex and a lifelong fan of Football with my favorite teams being the New England Patriots and the Georgia Bulldogs. Dillon is also a fan of Motorsports Red Bull in Formula One and William Byron in NASCAR. You can catch Dillon Stream F1, NASCAR, and other video games and sidecasts on Twitch.
