The 2022 Formula 1 season is not leaving anyone indifferent, after an important regulatory change that threatened to break the hierarchical order of the grid, some teams, such as Ferrari, have significantly improved their performance, while for others, such as Mercedes, it has been the opposite.
This weekend, from April 22 to 24, the single-seaters of the highest category of motorsport will return to the asphalt after a week’s break to compete in the Elimia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, the fourth race of the course.
Due to the premiere of the renewed sprint format and taking into account the problems in the delays that all freight transport companies are suffering due to the consequences of COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this weekend the importance Thursday was obviously older.
Gallery: Photos from Thursday’s F1 at the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
As a novelty, this weekend the teams will only have one free practice session before qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP , already with the sprint format, the most important session on Saturday is moved to Friday to play a sprint race.
For this reason, the work of the teams in terms of assembling the single-seaters is key, since with only one hour of practice, the chances of choosing the wrong configuration that compromises the rest of the weekend increases significantly.
After contesting the first three races of the season, Charles Leclerc arrives at Imola with the leadership of the drivers’ championship thanks to his 71 points, well ahead of his pursuers; George Russell (37p.) and Carlos Sainz (33p.).
As for the constructors’ championship, Ferrari has also managed to open up a wide lead over its rivals. The Italian team has a total of 104 points, while Mercedes is second with 65 and Red Bull Racing third with 55 units, the latter seriously affected by the reliability problems of their car.
