► Red Bull clear up
► Mercedes’ season gets worse
► Ferrari give away points
Last weekend saw the first Sprint race of the season, and despite one and a bit races worth of potential action, Imola still managed to throw up one of the most boring weekends of the year. Red Bull won’t mind, as Italy saw the fizzy team score maximum points with two wins and both cars finishing – and both on the podium for that matter. Ferrari was very much back to its old ways, and Mercedes fell further back in what must surely be the worst race for the Silver Arrows in years. So what did we learn from the Imola 2022 GP? Keep reading to find out.
1. Disasterclass Ferrari is back
Ferrari seems to have quietly returned to its Alonso and Vettel form. Despite having a race winning car, Maranello is once again leaving points on the board with needless mistakes, poor strategy calls and unforced driver errors. And in a decision that was vintage 2017-2018, Ferrari gave up third place on Sunday.
It didn’t make sense. Charles had a huge lead in the points and could have simply finished third in the main race to limit the damage. Instead, he was told to chase a single extra point for fastest lap, and then to push even harder to take Perez. It was only going to go one way.
It’s important to maximise opportunities where possible, but these weren’t the tactics of a WCC-winning team. More weekends like this and Red Bull will be far in front.
2. Sainz sours
You’d have thought a new two-year contract with Sainz would’ve made for a calm, stress-free Imola – but that wasn’t the case. Carlos Sainz is now 5th in the championship, 48 points away from teammate Charles Leclerc, 21 behind Verstappen and 11 behind George Russell. So what happened?
After yet another mistake in Friday qualifying, Sainz managed to battle up to 4th in the Sprint race – but there was worse to come on the Sunday. All the Spaniard’s work was undone when he made contact with Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren, with the Ferrari coming off worse and spinning into the gravel.
It marked another suboptimal weekend for Sainz (and admittedly his team) and must surely make him a clear rear-gunner for Charles’ championship efforts going forward. There are still many races to go, but with Red Bull’s car seemingly faster, Ferrari will need to do all it can to keep Leclerc ahead.
3. Race director misplaces DRS
The main race started on intermediate tyres, and that meant it was up to the race director to implement DRS – only things took much longer than expected. Even with a dry line formed, the race director still hesitated to implement the overtaking aid – and it made for some of the most boring laps this year.
Despite being able to race closely, overtaking around the Imola track looked impossible – and it also changed the complexion of the race. It kept Hamilton and others locked in a train of midfield cars, and it also prevented Leclerc from passing Perez and moving on to pressure Verstappen.
This is Formula One, so we’ll never really know why the race director misplaced DRS for so long. However, some believe it was a test to see just how easy overtaking could be with these new aero rules and no drag reduction system. If the first half of Imola’s race is anything to go by; we still need DRS.
4. Mercedes falls further
Mercedes is still trying to understand its radical-looking W13, but it’s taking longer than expected and other teams have begun to improve their cars in the meantime. A processional Sprint race on the Saturday couldn’t help the Brackley team out of their midfield slots. On the Sunday Russell managed to claw his way up to fourth – helped in part by Sainz’s crash – but things were worse for Hamilton who remained in 14th all race.
Worse still was the way it happened, even with DRS, the Mercedes was too slow and unstable – and couldn’t begin to scythe through the traffic. The worst part? When Verstappen was able to lap Hamilton before the end of the race. Mercedes’ hopes for this year now rest on a possible Barcelona update – but it could be too late.
5. Sprint races still don’t work
Unless Hamilton has been placed at the very back of the grid (as in Brazil 2021), Sprint races do very little to spice things up – and if anything, they make the result on Sunday more predictable. This weekend’s racing was no different; the faster cars moved towards the front while the slower cars fell to the back.
Those in charge aren’t willing to take onboard the opinions of fans – and now drivers either – so it looks like we’re stuck with them now. Still, at least the Miami GP is up next, an event motorsport fans around the world have been crying out for…
6. A midfield resurgence
Despite the dull race, it was good to see some of the midfield benefitting from Mercedes and Ferrari errors; Bottas battled his way to 5th, Norris to 3rd and Tsunoda fought his way to a much-needed 7th place. That could prove vital when the Red Bull suits think about reshuffling.