Chaotic Imola GP on Cards as Heavy Thunderstorms & Winds Set to Disrupt Nervy F1 Drivers

It has been an interesting F1 race weekend at the Imola track. The sport hosted its first qualifying on Friday and the first Sprint race of the 2022 season on Saturday. These two days saw a mix of weather conditions challenge the teams through and through.

On Friday, we saw cars running the wet and intermediate tires for the first time this season as the first practice and qualifying sessions took place in the wet. This did not give any dry weather data to the teams.

But the conditions changed once again as yesterday was bone dry, with lots of teams testing out their long runs for the main race. The dry conditions made for an interesting Sprint race with some teams going with no dry weather running at all.

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After days of contrasting weather, Sunday will be no different. According to AccuWeather, there is a good possibility that we might see rain at some point in the race. The weather throughout the day will remain cool and cloudy with a threat of rain.

It is expected that the temperature will be around 15 degrees Celsius at the start of the race. However, warnings of thunderstorms and heavy, gusty winds throughout the day might throw a spanner in the works.

There were some teams that performed really well in the wet conditions on Friday, so they will hope that there is some rain at any point in the race. One team and driver that might not really mind a bit of rain is Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren.

Can Daniel Ricciardo make progress through the field at the F1 race in Imola?

The McLaren driver qualified P6 for the Sprint race on Saturday in the rainy conditions in Friday’s qualifying. He crossed the line in sixth on Saturday and retained his spot for Sunday’s Grand Prix. However, he hopes to do better on Sunday as he is confident that there is a little more pace in the car.

“If we did the race again now, I would definitely change some things but with all that being said, you see ahead of us it’s Red Bull and Ferrari, so actually the result was good, I just think we will be a faster car tomorrow,” said Ricciardo.

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It would certainly make things interesting if there is a bit of rain for the main race. This could see teams all across the grid come up with some interesting strategies as the drivers struggle to battle the conditions on the track.