Welcome to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – 2024
McLaren ‘need more’ to challenge Red Bull
Lando Norris says McLaren is not ready to challenge Red Bull consistently despite taking his maiden victory in the Miami Grand Prix. However, he still is expecting the team will have s a competitive showing at this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but said McLaren is “not getting ahead of ourselves”.
Norris’ Miami victory followed a major aerodynamic development to the McLaren for the Florida race, and he believes the car should be even better matched with the Imola track this weekend.
Norris said, “I’m confident we can make steps forward but I’ve made it clear we’re not going to be there every weekend. We need more if we are to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari more consistently.”
he said, “We are just better suited for Imola, potentially the upgrade a little bit as well. Imola has generally been one of our more successful tracks – and for me as driver.”
He pointed out that other teams were also progressing, Ferrari have their own development package this weekend, including major bodywork revisions and improved aerodynamics.
Norris, despite the gains still thinks that McLaren are the third fastest team while confident that by continuing the rate of development they could challenge for wins in 2025.
Can’t remember such a “minuscule” tyre working range – Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton says he cannot recall a time when tyres have had such a small operating window. In Miami, drivers struggled to find the sweet spot with the tyres with the combination of temperatures, track surface and layout created a perfect storm of difficulty.
This impacted Mercedes more because they have been especially sensitive to tyre temperatures where they can easily fall in and out of the perfect operating range. Reflecting on how things are at the moment, the seven-time world champion thinks that the characteristics of Pirelli’s current 18-inch tyres are something he has never experienced before.
he said, “I think we’re just working in a really, like, minuscule window of tyre temps. I think it’s this tyre. Definitely, in all my career, I don’t remember ever having such a small window of working.”
With the penalty of being out of the right window quite extreme, as tiny time loss in F1 these days can mean a large number of positions, Hamilton said it was not an easy situation to deal with.
He added, ”You look back in the day where you had a much bigger working window to work with. Then you can just optimise the balance and then just have good grip throughout the whole lap. This is definitely my least favourite.”
Hamilton is not the only driver to feel that tyre temperatures are dictating so much about overall performance at the moment.
Williams’ Alex Albon said Miami had highlighted a trend of tyre temperature obsession in F1 right now. He said, “[It’s] more about tyres than anything else. It feels like China was a bit the same. You drive a bit quicker – you go slower.”
“So there’s a lot of almost race management going on in your qualifying laps trying to keep your tyres alive. The track’s too hot for these tyres. And with all the pressure limits and everything going up, each year, the tyres are struggling. “
Mercedes needs “several races” to significantly improve
Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff has warned that it will take “several races” to significantly improve the W15. Mercedes has been overtaken by McLaren in terms of performance with the car both lacking downforce as well as some undesirable handling characteristics baked into it.
It has also had difficulty in fully exploiting the car because of the various conditions and circuits in the opening six races as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have struggled to find the optimal operating windows. While the car has been better at the start of the year, it has appeared that they have not made enough gains to close the gap.
After bringing forward a floor upgrade to Miami, the rest of Mercedes’ first proper upgrade package of 2024 will be introduced for this weekend at Imola. But team principal Wolff cautioned it would take “several races” for the full suite of performance-altering upgrades to hit the track.
Wolff said, “The first six races have not been straightforward, but we have built a clear understanding of where we need to improve and shaped a clear path forward to tackle that. It will be several races before we see this bear fruit, but everyone is working hard to bring them as soon as is possible.”
However until then as the team always wants to maximise the package and hopes the upgrades for this weekend pushes them to maximise the package. It also believes the variety of circuits in the opening races has highlighted the underlying things that it needs to change.
trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin says it has picked out the underlying trends that have given it a direction of what needs to change. Shovlin said, “I think we’ve got a reasonable handle on where it is we need to be pushing development now. It’s not like we had the same problem at every track.”
“At Jeddah, we had a lot of bouncing in the high speed and the car was very difficult in the fast corners and we weren’t quick enough. We were fixing that. Then Melbourne we had an issue where the rear tyres were just degrading too rapidly. I think we got on top of that for Suzuka but you can only fix the problems one at a time.”
Albon signs a new Williams contract
Alex Albon has signed at least a new two year contract with Williams until the end of 2026. The British-Thai driver has been with the team since 2022, and previously had a contract that expired at the end of next season.
Williams has not confirmed the length of the new deal but say it is “multi-year contract extension” that takes Albon into the new regulation period, which starts in 2026.
Albon said, “This is a long-term project that I really believe in and want to play a key role in which is why I have signed a multi-year contract. The journey will take time but I am confident we are building the right team to move forward and achieve great things in the years to come.”
Williams finished seventh last season in new team principal James Vowles’ first term. This season they are ninth in the standings after the first six races following a tricky winter in which Vowles has been trying to modernise the way the team works.
However the start to this season has been difficult for the team, a delay in building the car and then a series of crashes as seen the team under pressure so far this season.
Vowles said: “We are delighted to secure Alex’s long-term future with Williams Racing. He has exceptional talent, technical input and dedication to the cause and this is a huge vote of confidence in Williams and the journey back to competitiveness that we are on.”
Newey expecting to join another team
Adrian Newey has said for the first time that he expects to join another team following his decision to leave Red Bull. The sixty-five-year-old announced earlier this month his decision to leave his role as Red Bull’s chief technical officer after nearly two decades was announced earlier this month.
His latest comments come in an interview with his manager Eddie Jordan, the former F1 team boss, in a marketing video for a yacht company that has been released on YouTube. In which he said, he was “seriously considering changing teams, going somewhere else and doing another four or five years or whatever”.
Newey added: “I feel a little bit tired at the moment, but at some point, I’ll probably go again.”
Newey, regarded as the greatest F1 designer in history, does not reveal where he might go, but he is known to have had conversations with Ferrari about moving there. Ferrari, who are regarded as the strong favourites to land Newey, have refused to comment.
As part of his exit from the team, he has agreed he would not need to take a period of gardening leave, which would allow him to join a new team early in 2025 that will give him time to have influence on the design of that team’s car for the new F1 technical regulations that are being introduced in 2026.
Lewis Hamilton, who is joining Ferrari next season, has said he is keen for Newey to join him in Maranello. Newey said that made him feel good, but added that it was “not why I get up”.
Newey’s decision to leave Red Bull was partly influenced by the controversy surrounding team principal Christian Horner, who has been accused of sexual harassment and coercive, controlling behaviour by a female employee.
Horner denies the allegations and has been cleared by one internal investigation. Another is ongoing after the complainant appealed, and while that is also expected to end with the same result, there will be further developments as time goes by.
Talking Points Imola
Round seven brings F1 to Imola in Italy and the 4.9km Autodromo Internationale Enzo Dino Ferrari. Since its return in 2020, Max Verstappen has won two of the three races however the outright record of wins belongs to Michael Schumacher.
Last year’s race was cancelled due to heavy rain and flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region. Much of the attention will be on the development battle and whether McLaren or any other team can make the same kind of challenge to Red Bull.
The expectations of the passionate Tifosi will only be heightened by the fact that Ferrari are bringing their own upgrade to the race that takes place just an hour or so from their Maranello factory. Mercedes are bringing the second phase of the upgrade package they began introducing in Miami, each of the event’s three practice sessions promise to be crucial as teams get the chance to gain more data after two successive Sprint weekends.
the teams are also arriving in Imola with limited data at Imola, in 2020 there was only a ninety-minute practice session, and both 2021 and 2022 were both affected by wet weather. So teams have not had dry practice sessions since 2006.
That means that the last time there was a dry start for teams to have useful grid launch data from was in 2020, which was of course before the new generation of cars was introduced in 2022.
Imola could be described as somewhere in the middle between high speed and a technical circuit, it has a high number of medium-speed corners would have probably been seen as problematic for McLaren earlier in the season, but if their upgrade is as effective as Norris’ Miami pace promised, the Briton may be able to challenge Verstappen once more.
This also means that overtaking at the circuit is very difficult, meaning a significant pace advantage is likely to be required to pull off a pass, as was the case in Miami. It is also worth noting that the challenge of overtaking puts both the undercut and overcut in play, with a timely stop into fresh air providing the potential to make up several places.
Strategy is going to be the watchword, not only for this weekend but for Monaco and Montreal, all three are likely to feature safety cars. That was key in Miami allowing Norris and others to switch to a two-stop.
The additional challenge provided by wet weather was undoubtedly a factor in the Safety Cars required at recent Imola races, but that could be the case once more on Sunday. While conditions appear likely to be dry on Friday and Saturday, there is currently a significant possibility of rain on Sunday, which would only add to what is already shaping up to be an exciting weekend.
Ferrari who has eight wins at Imola could excel here, but going into the weekend the big question is are Red Bull going to jump ahead of the field. Max Verstappen has failed to win this season, with a technical failure in Australia and an untimely Safety Car interruption in Miami.
Gravel traps return at Imola
F1’s push to shake off problems with track limits has prompted the expansion of gravel traps at Imola. As teams began their track walks this morning one of the most notable changes to the circuit was the expansion of the runoff areas.
Key areas of the circuit have been reconfigured, with previous asphalt runoff areas being reduced and replaced with gravel traps. They are on the exit of Piratella, where the gravel trap now runs much closer to the edge of the circuit on the right-hand side.
Then the asphalt run off on the outside of Acque Minerali has also been dramatically reduced and replaced with gravel, which will leave no room for error as the cars swoop through that turn.
While asphalt gave drivers some room for error and meant mistakes were not terminally punished, they also opened the door to problems with track limits abuse amid F1’s latest stance.
This reached a peak at last year’s Austrian Grand Prix where the lack of gravel traps was regarded as a contributing factor in drivers running wide repeatedly and there being 1,200 offences counted over the course of the Grand Prix, that doesn’t include qualifying, sprint qualifying or the sprint.
The Red Bull Ring circuit is expected to make changes for this year, with it also understood that Monza will make modifications at some corners too for this year’s Italian GP. As part of the revamp of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit a few years ago, more gravel traps were added – something drivers especially liked.
Bearman focused on seizing ‘great opportunity’ with Haas
Ollie Bearman says the six practice sessions he will drive in for Haas this season provide “great opportunities” to prove he is ready for a 2025 seat. The Englishman made his debut in Jeddah replacing Carlos Sainz where he finished seventh.
That performance has seen him linked to the US-owned team who have at least one seat free, after Nico Hulkenberg’s departure for Sauber. This weekend brings Bearman another FP1 outing alongside his F2 commitments. He told the media, “I see it as of course my chance. But just because there is a seat free, it doesn’t mean that I’m entitled to it.”
“I still have to go out there and earn it through good performances in F2, but even more so the six FPs that I’m doing, I have to perform well and show that I’m ready to jump into F1 next year.”
F2 returns after a two month break since the last race in Melbourne for the bulk of the season, with the expectation of Montreal, running until Baku in September. He will need to excel both in F1 practice and his F2 races to affirm his top-level credentials, and is not yet giving up his championship hopes in the latter.
He is aware the differences between the Jeddah street circuit and a classic F1 track like Imola will limit similarities, Bearman is already thinking about how his Ferrari experience can help Haas develop their 2024 car.
While he is the leading contender for the US-owned team next year, he says he is not entitled to it. Adding, “”I still have to go out there and earn it through good performances in F2, but even more so the six FPs that I’m doing, I have to perform well and show that I’m ready to jump into F1 next year.”
Magnussen feels penalised as he faces a ban
Kevin Magnussen believes he has been penalised for “driving outside of some white lines” as he faces a ban in the coming races. Throughout the last three races the Grands Prix in Shanghai and Miami plus the Miami Sprint, has put him two away from an automatic race ban.
While his Shanghai and main Miami race penalties were considered slam dunk cases given Magnussen’s actions put Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant out respectively in those events, his driving in the Miami sprint really ignited this saga.
His battling efforts to keep Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton behind meant Magnussen was handed three 10-second time additions penalties for repeatedly leaving the track and gaining advantages, plus one five-second penalty and a black-and-white warning flag for additional track limits abuse.
One of the reports this week has been the governing body is considering altering F1’s sporting rules to mean such transgressions will accrue more costly drive-through sanctions. Magnussen admits he will need to ” race differently to avoid getting any more penalty points and “be careful not to get a race ban”, but questioned the stewards’ decisions regarding his actions in the Miami sprint.
He said “The fact that I’m at risk of a race ban for driving outside of some white lines – on a piece of Tarmac – I don’t know if I feel that that is right. But it is the way the rules are. I accept that but I feel there is room for improvement there.”
“Not only in terms of the [penalty] points. There are more races now than there were back when they were introduced and I feel you can end up getting a race ban effectively for a very minor thing. That’s what I feel.”
Magnussen believes in situations like that the place should be given back without too big a consequence, but suggested their shouldn’t be an additional penalty.
This may have been added to because of tweaks to the sporting regulations that doubled the penalty from five to ten seconds.
The Weekend Ahead
F1 returns to Europe for the first time this season brings with it the first big upgrades of the season. It will be a very important Friday as teams try to understand them going into qualifying and they need to be careful given this is an older circuit and there is more risks compared to more modern circuit.
The big question, as we are all thinking that Red Bull are the team to beat going into the European season is has anyone got close enough to challenge them on a genuine pace. Ferrari and McLaren have beat Max Verstappen thanks to Red Bull being weaken at street circuits and strategy, but in a straightforward fight can they be beaten? I think that is unlikely.
Mercedes will be hoping their upgrades for this weekend can see that gap close, but it sounds as if there are bigger more longer-term issues which they need to resolve. You need to wonder what they need to do to stop going backwards so they can fight for best of the rest?
One of the off-track news items to emerge from the Miami weekend was the fact that a request has been put in for Mercedes youngster Andrea Kimi Antontelli to be granted a Super Licence from the FIA, he needs to be eighteen under the rules.
Williams has requested the talented Italian be allowed to do so before turning 18 later this year. As it stands, the first race he could appear in is Monza, but special dispensation would allow him to be evaluated earlier.
Of course, this weekend, like Miami, marks the thirtieth anniversary of the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratezenberger, already we have seen tributes the big mural on the pit building. Several more tributes are expected through out the weekend, Sebastian Vettel will get behind the wheel of Senna’s McLaren MP4/8, the car that he last won a race in at the end of 1993, and display it for fans across the three days.
Adding to the poignant weekend is the devastation last year caused by flooding in the area, The sport donated €1million to the relief fund when the race had to be postponed.