Faithful F1 fans will recognize this weekend’s classic venue: Imola. Last used by F1 in 2006, the circuit has played witness to myriad F1 history including many first poles, first wins, and Imola is also the place where Ayrton Senna tragically died in 1994. By hosting this Grand Prix Italy will become the first country to have held three Formula 1 Grands Prix in one year and 100 Formula 1 Grands Prix in total. It is also noteworthy that this will be F1’s first deliberate two day weekend format with no running on Friday.
Red Bull will have a positive outlook going into the weekend knowing their package is getting ever close to Mercedes, particularly in terms of race pace. Look for Red Bull to have a shot at the win here, with a podium a safe bet regardless. We can expect what has come to be the norm for AlphaTauri which is to have one car finish in the points and the other finish just outside the points.
Elsewhere on the grid, Mercedes is still the team to beat but, like Portimao, the lack of recent data could help level the playing field. We can expect the next battle to be between a McLaren and a Ferrari, with the Papaya Orange cars having the edge. Renault will be right in the mix with the Papaya Orange cars and lead Ferrari and will hope its straight line speed can help it. Racing Point will be mixing it up with with the Renault cars in what will be a tight pack. As we begin to move out of the points-paying positions we can expect to see team cars from the other midfield runners and the usual battle between Haas and Alfa Romeo. Williams will be toward the back although we can expect one of the team cars to challenge the Ferrari-powered cars in front of them.
US TV SCHEDULE
Practice 1 – Saturday, October 31 – 4.55AM –
ESPN
Qualifying – Saturday, October 31 – 8.55AM – ESPN2
Grand Prix Sunday – Sunday, November 1 – 5.30AM – ESPN2
Race – Sunday, November 1 – 7.05AM – ESPN2
CIRCUIT INFO
Direction: Counterclockwise
Turns: 19
Race laps: 63
Lap Distance: 4.909km (2.891 mi)
Race Distance: 309.049km
Longest Straight: m
Top Speed: 328kph
Average Speed: TBDkph
Lap Record:
TBD
Full throttle: 62%
Downforce Level: Medium
Cooling Requirement: Medium
Typical Strategy: 1 Stop Race
Pitlane Length: TBCm
Tyres: Hard (C2), Medium (C3), Soft (C4)
CURRENT STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 256
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 179
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 162
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, 80
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 75
6. Sergio Perez, Racing Point, 74
7. Lando Norris, McLaren, 65
8. Alex Albon, Red Bull, 64
9. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 63
10. Carlos Sainz, McLaren, 59
11. Lance Stroll, Racing Point, 57
12. Esteban Ocon, Renault, 40
13. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 18
14. Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri, 14
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point, 10
16. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 3
17. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, 2
18. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 2
19. Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 0
20. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 1
21. George Russell, Williams, 0
Constructors
1. Mercedes, 435
2. Red Bull, 226
3. Racing Point, 126
4. McLaren, 124
5. Renault, 120
6. Ferrari, 93
7. AlphaTauri, 77
8. Alfa Romeo, 5
9. Haas, 3
10. Williams, 0
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