The Enzo e Dino Ferrari Autodrome will host the first grand prix in Europe of the 2022 Formula 1 season. It will be the true debut in the old continent of the new single-seaters with ground effect, after the tests carried out at the end of February in Montmelò, Barcelona.
After the first three races, the arrival of F1 at Imola immediately raised a problem related to the curbs on the Italian track. Single-seaters designed according to the 2022 regulations, which adopt ground effect as the main source of downforce, must necessarily run with the bottom very close to the asphalt to try to have an at least acceptable level of downforce.
This height of the car is also ‘regulated’ by porpoising, since there are teams like Mercedes that, having failed to eliminate it, raise their car to avoid it, which prevents them from taking advantage of 100% ground effect.
In the past, including in 2021, drivers have made good use of the curbs at Imola, although they are more aggressive than those encountered in the first three starts of the season. For this reason, also to avoid situations like the one Mick Schumacher experienced in Jeddah , the way to approach them could be much more cautious than what was seen last year.
Motorsport.com was able to speak to an engineer who gave his point of view: “If you look at the start of last year’s race, when Lewis Hamilton had to go over the curbs at Turn 1 to avoid a collision with Max Verstappen, with this year’s cars it would have severely damaged the underside of his car.”
Xevi Pujolar, head of track engineering for the Alfa Romeo team, agreed that drivers will have to be very careful how they approach the Enzo and Dino Ferrari’s curbs.
“The approach to the curbs is something we will have to take into account. It can be a limiting factor in some circumstances. We will have to be careful with the car set-up and the amount of track we want to use.”
“It is very necessary to be careful in certain parts of the track, because if we have any damage, it could have a big impact on the weekend.
On the other hand, there are those, like Kevin Magnussen, who think that the Imola pianos are not the big problem that others consider them to be.
According to the Dane, the Haas is a competitive car, so while curbs can be an additional concern for teams and drivers, the VF-22 should also suit the Emilia Romagna GP track well.
“The cars are lower and stiffer this year, so the transition on the curbs is certainly more difficult than it was last year. We’ll see, hopefully whatever challenges we face, we can continue to be competitive. I think our car is strong in all aspects, so we should do well.”
