They couldn’t wait to return to Imola. Every time they set foot on it, they are happy to test themselves along the ups and downs of the Santerno, very different from the copy-and-paste circuits built outside Europe. It has been like this since 2020, the year in which the World Cup stopped in the city again after an absence of more than fifteen years; conquering Lewis Hamilton first of all. They are the Formula 1 drivers, who in the end could prove to be among Imola’s best allies in the very complicated race towards the renewal of the contract for the Grand Prix.
“Imola is always an iconic track and we are thrilled to return after the race was canceled last year – explains the world champion, Max Verstappen –. It is always interesting to race on an old school circuit like this, very technical, with some complex combinations of corners and braking zones”.
Not even Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz has any doubts; and joins the team of many supporters (including many drivers of the Circus that he was) of Imola. “We all miss arriving at historic circuits like this, or Monte Carlo next week – warns the Spaniard –. It’s nice to race in many new places, but I hope that the calendar maintains historic tracks like Imola as much as possible”.
Then the goad, which however – as local enthusiasts also know well – starts from a grain of truth. “On some of these tracks there is still work to be done to improve them from a show perspective, between the length of the pit lane and the overtaking opportunities – concludes Sainz –. But it is also an old school that many of us are fond of because it reminds everyone of the moment in which they became passionate about racing.”
Lando Norris of McLaren also insists on this, albeit with slightly different tones and nuances, who the other evening after his Thursday track walk popped into the center for a bite to eat at Panizzo’s. “Imola, a historic track? We love these circuits as they are more demanding, but there are also difficulties in overtaking and therefore I understand that the public likes them less – warns the Brit –. We need to find compromises. The very long pit lane takes away an element of strategy to the race, forcing the teams to make just one stop; it is certainly an element of history in the championship that must be maintained, perhaps carrying out work to reach a certain level of spectacularity.”
