The Imola event is undoubtedly special for Ferrari, which finds itself competing a few kilometers from the Maranello headquarters. This year the Emilia Romagna GP is even more important for the Prancing Horse, given that over the weekend the team will debut the important package of updates announced and long-awaited.
Vasseur: “An intense weekend awaits us”
The Ferrari team principal, Frederic Vasseurexplained why Ferrari chose the Imola weekend to debut the new features on the SF-24: “Let’s go back to having the classic format, with three practice sessions and that’s why we decided to bring the first SF-24 update package here. A very intense weekend therefore awaits us since we will have to carefully evaluate all the new features and at the same time we will be called to work for qualifications and the race“.
To the microphones of Sky Sportsthe French manager then underlined how the Emilia Romagna GP, the event that opens the European F1 season, represents a sort of second start to the championship: “It’s always like a new start to the season when you come to Europe. Imola is a track we know and we will see how we manage to behave“.
Vasseur then explained the reason for his foray into McLaren’s celebrations for Lando Norris’ victory in Miami, a scene which generated some controversy among fans: “We celebrated Lando because he too had done it with us in Melbourne“. In Australia, we remember, the Briton got on the podium in the company of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc who finished in the top two positions.
Imola, a special appointment
As mentioned, the event scheduled on the circuit named in memory of Enzo and Dino Ferrari can only have a special meaning for the Maranello team. Vasseur added: “After the cancellation of last season, we are happy to be able to race again in Imola in front of our fans, who I am sure will crowd the racetrack: we are confident that we can be protagonists on the trackthat we will be out there fighting and we hope to give them some reason to rejoice. We will try to have all the components ready and I will be a special moment. It will be for the whole team“.
The Imola circuit from the point of view of the power unit
The track of the racetrack dedicated to Enzo and Dino Ferrari has 19 curves and only one DRS area corresponding to the pit straight. Nicola Mosconiresponsible for power unit operations on the track, describes the circuit from the engine’s point of view as follows: “Imola is a circuit with medium sensitivity to energy, it is located more or less halfway between Monte Carlo and Spa-Francorchamps, which effectively represent the extremes. There is only one DRS zoneon the main straight. Power unit energy distribution strategies must take this into accountto maximize the chances of overtaking and minimize the chances of being overtaken.”
Another characteristic aspect of Imola are the heavy jumps on the curbs to which the cars are subjected, an aspect to also take into consideration when talking about power unit management: “THE Drivers use the curbs quite aggressively here, especially at the Acque Minerali curve and the Variante Alta – adds Mosconi – it is therefore necessary to choose the correct gear and the most suitable trajectory for avoid reliability problems that may be due to over-revving“.
