F1 is back in Imola. And we’re back to racing, or are we? Today was free practice 1 and there will be qualifying post the free practice. The qualifying will decide the grid for tomorrow’s sprint qualifying. But Imola has a surprise for all teams and drivers alike.
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It is raining cats and dogs at Imola right now. And this will add a twist to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Imola serves F1 a surprise
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is the first of the three sprints in the current season. The tricky part about a sprint qualifying is the lack of practice the drivers get in their cars. Especially if you’re trying to fix something in your car. A persistent issue, a reliability issue, or lack of pace, among other things. And these are exactly the problems a few of the constructors are facing. It’s still early in the season, but every race counts.
However, the wet conditions during the hour-long FP1 made things interesting. The teams would’ve ideally liked better conditions to understand the car’s performance. And to get the necessary data ahead of tomorrow’s sprint and the race day after. The teams will still get the data but there is an extremely wet track to factor in now.
READ MORE: Imola GP Weather Forecast: Cloudy Skies Promise Challenging First F1 Sprint Weekend
But life is never fair. The drivers have an hour to test out the cars before qualifying after a two and half hour break. How helpful will be the free practice, I guess only the qualifying will tell?
Twitter reacts
Fans, as well as the drivers, reacted to the situation on Twitter as they made their way to the paddock.
F1 teams this weekend: pic.twitter.com/4j4fR4muaK
— F1 Reaction Pictures (@FormulaReaction) April 22, 2022
Welcome to Swimola 🏊♂️#ImolaGP #F3 pic.twitter.com/vbvYZQNQfZ
— Formula 3 (@FIAFormula3) April 22, 2022
All the rain that falls today, won’t fall tomorrow pic.twitter.com/LvkrnowW6R
— Richard Verschoor (@R_Verschoor1) April 22, 2022
The sweetest human being 💚 @AstonMartinF1 #Vettel #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/wjcPZuQqTY
— Mary (@optmsme) April 22, 2022
Weather update form #ImolaGP: Not so magnifique! ☔️😅 @danielricciardo pic.twitter.com/P6Zmv4bbBU
— Esteban Ocon (@OconEsteban) April 22, 2022
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More of the same tomorrow?
Now we can only speculate on the weather for tomorrow’s sprint and further for the race day after. If the conditions remain the same, it’ll be interesting to see the measures the teams will take.
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Moreover, it’ll be interesting to see if this affects the racing dynamic as well. Currently, Ferrari is enjoying a brilliant start in the current season. However, the qualifying will give us a fair idea of the team’s current status.
But we cannot be certain about tomorrow’s sprint and the race conditions. Guess we’ll wait it out!