Pirelli Emilia-Romagna GP 16th Apr - 18th Apr 2021 Pre-Race Chat

A bit out of place, indeed.

Now, if the husband of the president of... Burkina Faso or wherever... dies, someone from there who works at the paddock could demand equal treatment.

 

It is especially revealing of the intrinsic British nature of this sport.
Which is an indisputable reality.

 

It´s about time that he Brits realize that if someone from Stuttgart said that the remains of His Royal Highness should be thrown into a mass grave to not spoil the TV schedule, they´d doing so, an eagerly.

I´m more surprised about Liberty. Supposedly they shouldn´t give a **** about His Royal Highness, but I suppose that they´re too afraid of hurting anybody´s feelings in this world of political correctness.

 

At Spa many decades ago the public in the grandstands suddenly heard; "we are saddened to announce the King has passed.

The races are cancelled, please vacate the circuit."

This was their King though....but yes F1 is deeply British and complaining about that is like scolding the rain, useless.

QEII only came to a GP once, at Silverstone in the early fifties and that was enough for her.

 

[AMuS]

According to Ferrari, they are now in second or third place in the engine power ranking. Not much is missing from the engine leader Mercedes.


Ferrari is bringing a small aero upgrade to Imola. The engineers want to test detailed changes to the wings and the floor on Friday during free practice. Ferrari also has new parts, but these will not be used in the race until Portimão!

Ferrari about the struggles in the second half of the Bahrain race: "It's not the tyres. It is possible that the SF21 reacts more strongly to wind changes than the others. Another finding of the engineers: There is still room for improvement in medium-fast and fast corners."

Ferrari confirmed to Micheal Schmidt our preview. According our data: gap on Mercedes/ Honda (they are quite similar) now is ~15hp. Will be possible to reduce to 10hp in some conditions. Recovery was clearly over 40hp

 

Wrong horses

 

Sorry?
Do you want to run that first part by us again, in English using some conventional and/or logical structure?
And the person we are burying is the antithesis of political correctness, as any body with 1/2 a brain could see.
But that, dear friend, is of course for P&R.

 

All I can say is that as much as I dislike nascar at least there are more than 2 or 3 people that can win every weekend. I am a recent fan that is very quickly getting turned away. I don't know the answer and maybe no one does but please I beg of those in charge do something to make it interesting again. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

 

Formula 1 Emilia Romagna GP Analysis
The themes to watch in F1’s Imola return
By: Alex Kalinauckas
Apr 13, 2021, 9:09 AM
Three weeks is a long time in Formula 1, but in the reshaped start to the 2021 season the teams head to Imola to pick things up after the frenetic Bahrain opener. Here's what to look out for and the developments to follow at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

The second Emilia Romagna Grand Prix possesses something reassuringly familiar in the current uncertain climate: it’s the start of the European F1 spring.


Usually, the teams would be heading to Barcelona after a travelling back from Australia via the Middle East and Asia, but 2021 had just one initial flyaway. The Bahrain season opener was a thriller, with notable themes at the front of the field immediately emerging. But, as well as those motifs likely continuing this weekend, the Imola event is significant for every squad.

At the front, Red Bull has F1’s fastest car, but hasn’t got a victory to show for it thanks to Mercedes’ aggressive Bahrain strategy calls, plus Lewis Hamilton’s continuing tyre management excellence. The question is whether Red Bull can stay ahead and convert its promise into a nerve-settling win this weekend. Mercedes certainly expects its rival to be so thanks to the high-speed sections of the 19-turn layout, which don’t suit the W12.

But a return to Europe plus the three-week gap since Bahrain means there’s every chance that the teams will take this opportunity to tweak their 2021 machines with update packages within the limits of this season’s design-carryover rules. Mercedes hinted in pre-season it would reveal its token upgrade spend in due course, which suggests it still has something to add to the W12 given it ran its testing specification to victory in Bahrain.


Red Bull can of course make further tweaks to improve the RB16B package that looked so good last time out, but with the need to consider when to switch resources to the 2022 cars and keep under the new cost cap, it’s not a given that teams will bring updates to every race this year.

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Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB16B

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

In the pack behind the leaders, Alpine has already acted, opting to bring an aerodynamic upgrade package to this weekend’s event after confirming “some of the weaknesses of our package” in Bahrain, per team executive director Marcin Budkowski.

But while the physical changes will be apparent when the cars take to the track on Friday, there will be additional unseen elements of progress that the teams will be eyeing this weekend.

Red Bull needs Sergio Perez to make an impression in the lead fight. The Mexican was dropped to the back of the field through no fault of his own in Bahrain, but he would’ve been starting outside the top 10 even without what is now described as a formation lap electrical issue by the team. He fought back impressively in the race, but that just won’t be possible this weekend if he qualifies down the order again given passing will be a rare event should the race run interrupted throughout.

If, as Mercedes expects, Red Bull and Verstappen lead the way again in qualifying, plus there’s the potential Perez improvement against the clock, then it will be interesting to see which of the Black Arrows drivers is the nearest challenger
“My goal is to have a good race and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” Perez says ahead of the race. “Hopefully in Imola we can come back and be in contention to fight for a podium and hopefully the win. Unlike Bahrain, qualifying is very important at Imola as you can hardly overtake there – but I like it.”


The 2020 Emilia Romagna GP showcased exactly why Red Bull needs two cars in the lead fight, as Mercedes was able to put Hamilton onto a strategy that would’ve likely got him back ahead of Max Verstappen even without fortuitous virtual safety car timing, using its 2-1 advantage to great effect.

In that race, Hamilton triumphed despite it being a weekend where Valtteri Bottas had had an edge, right up until he ran over a piece of Ferrari bodywork that Sebastian Vettel had lost against Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

If, as Mercedes expects, Red Bull and Verstappen lead the way again in qualifying, plus there’s the potential Perez improvement against the clock, then it will be interesting to see which of the Black Arrows drivers is the nearest challenger. Hamilton looked more at home in the troublesome W12 in Bahrain, where Bottas also compromised his race with a slow first lap, but the Finn can look back on F1’s last visit to Imola for inspiration.

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Hamilton trails Bottas and Verstappen in the early stages of the 2020 Emilia-Romagna GP

Although Ferrari has taken a significant step forwards compared to its 2020 nightmare, it seems as if the Scuderia will need its drivers to deliver their own brilliance this weekend.

Charles Leclerc shone at Imola last year with a performance similar to the one he produced in Bahrain – qualifying higher than the car deserved to be and then hanging on in the race. Imola’s tight-but-rapid nature means he won’t necessarily slide backwards this time around if he can get another lofty grid spot. Carlos Sainz Jr gets a first chance to race for Ferrari in Italy and will be out to make an impression.

Another home-hero squad for this weekend is AlphaTauri, which lost the chance for an impressive 2020 result at Imola to a radiator weld failure on Pierre Gasly’s car. The Frenchman put in another impressive qualifying display in Bahrain, but ruined it clattering Daniel Ricciardo early in the race. This weekend, he gets the chance to reinforce his team’s potential at a track where he was very fast last year, while the early career momentum gathering around Yuki Tsunoda will increase if he impresses again at this tricky track.

While Aston Martin seems to have gone from podium chasing with Perez at Imola last year to a likely struggle to make Q3 and the points in 2021 – largely thanks to the rear floor changes that have also hampered Mercedes considerably – McLaren was best of the rest in Bahrain. This weekend offers the perfect chance to solidify its progress after the team was unexpectedly at the back of the fluctuating midfield scrap and in a weekend of ‘damage limitation’ on its way to seventh and eighth at Imola last year.

Alfa Romeo is another team out to show its Bahrain pace and progress was not a one-off, while Haas will be hoping its drivers can keep their cars pointing in the right direction across the weekend.

At Williams, a George Russell redemption story is waiting to be written given his embarrassing safety car crash here in 2020. But he’ll need to ace qualifying, as he did last year and in Bahrain last time out, plus race as strongly as he did nearly six months ago to be in points contention if something unexpected occurs.

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George Russell, Williams FW43

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

That’s what Imola offers. It’s a fearsome track – an “iconic old-school track with a fast and flowing layout that provides little room for error”, per McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo – with many bumps to test the drivers, as well having an unusual anti-clockwise layout.

A straightforward race will mean a certain one-stopper because the pitlane time is so high, but the challenging layout (with close gravel traps at most corners hopefully putting the tedious track limits debate on ice for a while!) means there’s every chance a dull affair could be enlivened very quickly.

But overtaking will still be very difficult, even with a longer DRS zone this year. So, if it’s close – from the off or late-on as things shake out – it’ll likely be tense.

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More DRS in Imola. Detection point has been moves from after T18 to before T17 and activation from finish line to 60m before T19.

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FIA Race Stewards:

- Tim Mayer
- Silvia Bellot
- Tom Kristensen [Drivers Representative]
- Iacopo Arcangeli


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Resurfacing work at the pit entry

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Red AMG Safety Car and Medical Cars

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Ferrari poster

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This weekends trophies

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I like the red safety and medical cars. Not so sure about Crowdstrike on the cars, though.

Now, those trophies. What are they supposed to represent?

 

The trophies for this weekends Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell’Emilia Romagna depict a lightning bolt and are the result of a collaboration between the Pirelli HangarBicocca, a contemporary art museum, with the Italian artist

 

A new McLaren motorhome

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New motorhome for AMF1

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Track limits control on T9, T13 and T15.

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Corinna at the circuit

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elements used so far

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That is great to see, I hope that all members of the press are respectful.

 

Lower downforce rear wing for Ferrari. Spoon profile. Looks top element is bigger. No T wing.



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The secret of Imola’s lucky F1 paddock cat
By: Luke Smith
Apr 15, 2021, 4:50 AM

Following an enthralling tussle in Bahrain three weeks ago, the close fight between Mercedes and Red Bull looks set to rage on as Formula 1 returns to Imola this weekend.
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It's not like you will find a lucky black cat crossing your path at Imola. But you will find a grey tabby cat.

His name is Formulino. And he is the secret cat king of the Imola F1 paddock.

Little was known about Formulino prior to last year's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which marked Imola's first F1 race since 2006, but as various preparations were carried out on Thursday in the paddock, he became a regular visitor to the teams' garages, keeping a close eye on those who had entered his paddock.

Then-Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was graced by Formulino as he spoke to Sky Sports F1 in the media pen. "It's good luck if he comes and sees you," presenter Ted Kravitz told Vettel.

But Vettel wasn't so enthused. "I don't like cats," he said. "I have nothing to offer it. He's a bit overweight though…"

Lewis Hamilton was far more welcoming to the cat, who had a good nose around one of Mercedes' team units. Formulino was quick to say hello to the reigning world champion, who took a moment to give him a stroke and pet his head.

Aware his subject's interest was waning, Hamilton duly went on his way - but as Mercedes' Twitter account pointed out, both he and the team had been "blessed by the Imola cat".

Since his starring role at Imola last year, Formulino has joined the ranks of F1's many famous pets, including Hamilton's dog Roscoe and - this writer's personal favourite - Alexander Albon's various furry friends on the @AlbonPets Instagram account, led by the adorable Horsey Albon.

Formulino's Instagram account - in which he rightly claims to be "the owner of Imola" - features pictures of him sitting in on all of the circuit's important meetings, including scrutineering and planning for the return of this year's grand prix. If the boss is around, you need to be on best behaviour.

In the build-up to this weekend's race, F1 rightly credited Formulino by producing him a very special VIP paddock pass. As we all know, paddock access is currently extremely limited due to the COVID-19 restrictions, with exceptions made where deemed necessary, such as for one-eyed charity teddy bears (which strangely sparked one protest…). But Formulino does what he wants. After all, who is going to stop him?

Formulino's pass lists him as a member of Imola's personnel, his position being "cat", and grants him access for all days of the event. He even posed for a paddock pass photo like a true professional.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/the-secret-of-imolas-lucky-f1-paddock-cat/6271815/

 

From some pic on other forums looks like the cooling exits are reduced so good step there. With the higher temps at Bahrain and probably being conservative with new engine at first race they ran very big cooling exits there. Hope the reds will be racier here.

 

Weird.

I think you must have clipped out the part which indicates that these rules do not apply to team Mercedes, until or unless their closest competition also partakes.....

Kevin