The 2024 Imola GP Will Be Ferrari’s Toughest Challenge Yet

When will the 2024 Imola GP stream in the US?

Well, clear your Calendar from May 17 to May 19 if you wanna catch all the action at Imola GP. On May 17 from 7:30 AM ET onwards, FP1 will commence followed by FP2 at 11:00 AM ET.

On May 18 FP3 and Qualification will be held at 6:30 AM ET and 10:00 AM ET with the race starting from 09:00 AM ET onwards on May 19. Those who can’t convince their bosses for a day off ( like me) can catch all the action on ESPN and F1 TV.

A bit about Imola…

Source- Wikimedia

The track is one of the two in Italy where F1 will race this season other being the temple of speed Monza.

Located among the rustic Tuscan and Adriatic beaches Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is famous for hosting a sea of scarlet red Ferrari fans AKA Tifosi, who are known for having a bit of a temper if their favorite team doesn’t get a podium( hence the Ferrari upgrades). 

The track has a reputation for being one of the most difficult in F1 due to its anti-clockwise geometry and a mix of medium-high speed corners like “Piratella” and “Acque Minerali”. There is also the hairpin “Tosa” and a sweepingly fast ”Rivazza”.

Unlike the previous two races, the temps are expected to be a bit fair this time, with 77F and a slight chance of thunderstorms on race day as per the Weather Channel.

As fun as it all sounds, Imola is infamous for its unforgiving nature which claimed the lives of late great Ayrton Senna, Sauro Pazzaglia, and Roland Ratzenberger. 

Upgrades, Upgrades, Upgrades…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bip-sCxpgA

Source- https://www.youtube.com/@F1Unchained

Both Ferrari and Mercedes have decided to upgrade their machines this weekend. Ferrari;s team principal Vassuer was a bit skeptical as he stated “I think we have put kind of some thought into the development of this current car, and when we are bringing something, it's never a mega-upgrade”.

I could see these upgrades clearly in the spy photos which showed a revised vertical inlet, an over-feeding sidepod inlet, larger mirror stalks, and a larger undercut area underneath the pods. 

The upgrade is a big one despite what Vassuer might say. The Maranello-based team was also caught testing FIA’s water deflectors that could minimize spray during wet conditions and more affirmed overtaking maneuvers.

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/1coryge/formularoom_redbulls_second_upgrade_package_to

Although they hardly need it, Redbull has also decided to bring an upgrade to Imola squeezing every bit out of good old Adrian Newey before he leaves the team in 2025. Only FP1 will tell us if these upgrades are working or not which is scheduled to take place a day from now

Screengrab of Mercedes 2024 Miami Upgrade Revealing Revamped Floor

Mercedes will be its second half of the upgrade originally due at Miami this weekend. Meanwhile, Mercedes technical director Andrew Shovlin stated-

“But after the last few races, we have got now a very clear idea of what we need to do to the car to get it handling a bit more easily for the drivers, making sure it goes where they want it to go when they are on those important qualifying laps”. Indicating they have finally gotten to grips with their F1 car with Lewis securing P6 at Miami.

Vettel at Imola!

As much as I would like him to join Mercedes from 2025 onwards, he will be the only one there to drive Ayrton Senna’s legendary McLaren MP4/8 as a tribute to his childhood hero.

2024 Formula 1 Emilia Romagna FP1 Full Results

1 Charles LECLERC 1:16.990
2 George RUSSELL +0.104
3 Carlos SAINZ +0.130
4 Sergio PEREZ +0.243
5 Max VERSTAPPEN +0.250
6 Yuki TSUNODA +0.398
7 Lewis HAMILTON +0.418
8 Lando NORRIS +0.612
9 Oscar PIASTRI +0.817
10 Fernando ALONSO +0.877
11 Pierre GASLY +0.915
12 Lance STROLL +1.082
13 Daniel RICCIARDO +1.152
14 Esteban OCON +1.622
15 Oliver BEARMAN +1.677
16 Valtteri BOTTAS +1.837
17 Guany ZHOU +2.139
18 Logan SARGEANT +2.911
19 Alexander ALBON +3.060
20 Nico HULKENBERG +4.069