Formula One is back at the legendary San Marino circuit! And even in a special mode

After fourteen seasons, the Imola circuit in San Marino has returned to the Formula 1 racing calendar. Drivers will be fighting for points in a special two-day schedule.

The Coronavirus has completely overhauled the Formula One calendar this year. For example, the race at the brand new circuit in Vietnam had to be cancelled, but on the other hand, the monoblocs were able to visit unconventional venues or return to the old familiar ones. This was the case at the last Grand Prix in Portugal and the current one in San Marino.

The whole Grand Prix timetable is also unconventional this weekend. Normally, there are always two 90-minute practice sessions on Friday. One is then run on Saturday, followed by qualifying.

However, at the Imola circuit, the Friday practice sessions have been omitted altogether. The reason for this is to allow more time for the teams to make logistical preparations after the previous Grand Prix. At the same time, Formula 1 will more or less test the format. In fact, it was previously proposed to race only two days instead of three.

For the races themselves, this represents a kind of additional interesting spice. This season is already offering some quite unexpected results. These could be compounded by the omission of two practice sessions on a circuit that is not normally on the racing calendar. The drivers have less time to get used to it, the engineers have less time to adjust the monoblocks.

The circuit breathes history

The Imola track first replaced Monza in 1980 and became home to the Italian Grand Prix for a year. It then hosted the San Marino Grand Prix from the following season until 2006. The last time Michael Schumacher was victorious here. It now bears the name of the region in which it is located – the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

World champions such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso have also lifted trophies here. But not all memories of Imola are happy ones.

In 1994, the track proved fatal for Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. It was in honour of the Brazilian Formula One legend that Pierre Gasly decorated his helmet. “With this helmet, I pay tribute to one of my idols. You never forget a legend!” he tweeted.

The technical, old-fashioned circuit with eighteen corners and minimal exit area promises to be an interesting spectacle. Especially turns 11, 12, 13, a combination called Acque Minerali, will test the drivers, many of whom have never raced at Imola.

Source