Imola race track (F1)
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is scheduled to take place from May 19 to May 21 at the historic Imola circuit
F1 action moves to Italy for the first race in Europe this season and the stage is set for the much anticipated Emilia Romagna GP. The Grand Prix will take place at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, commonly known as ‘Imola’, after the town in which it is located. The circuit is named after Ferrari’s late founder Enzo Ferrari and his son Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari. It is an FIA Grade One licensed circuit.
The unique feature of the track in Imola is that is one of the very few international circuits to run in an anti-clockwise direction. It has a total length of 4.909 kilometres including 19 turns. The circuit was first opened for the public in 1953 and supports a total capacity of 78,000 people.
The circuit has undergone major revisions since 2007 and is quite different from its older version. The old pit garages and paddocks have been demolished and completely rebuilt while the pit lane has been extended and resurfaced. Faster timings have been recorded in the revamped circuit. The official lap record for the current Grand Prix Circuit layout is 1:15.484 set by Lewis Hamilton in 2020.
Red Bull continues to dominate the drivers’ championship standings having registered yet another 1-2 finish in Miami last weekend. They have made a fantastic start to the season and previously recorded 1-2 finishes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan besides a top-of-the-podium finish in Australia Max Verstappen leads the standings with 119 points followed by his team-mate Sergio Perez, who occupies the second spot with 105 points.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso lies in the third spot with 75 points – ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz and George Russell. The Red Bull duo have already created a considerable gap between themselves and the rest of the pack – other drivers need to pull up their socks very soon if they are to stand a chance.
In the constructors’ championship, the picture is no different. Defending champions Red Bull are miles ahead of the pack having accumulated 224 points. Aston Martin are significantly behind in second place, having earned 102 points from five races so far. Mercedes are placed third in the leaderboard with 96 points in their kitty – a whopping 128 points behind the leaders.
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