Speaking of Vettel…
Because many fans are interested: The new AMR22 has still not been given a nickname. “We’re still waiting for a little more pace, then we’ll think of a name,” said Vettel before the race in Melbourne.
Maybe we’re a little smarter in Imola…
Marko suffers with Vettel: “It hurts in the soul”
Together, Sebastian Vettel and Helmut Marko won the world championship four times in a row at Red Bull. at ‘Sport1’ the Austrian now admits: “It hurts my soul to see a four-time world champion in such a situation.”
Vettel is still without a championship point after the first three races. Next to the Williams, the Aston Martin is the worst car in the field. “He fights and tortures himself to do better,” Marko knows.
Because a resignation in the middle of the season “does not fit the strong character that Sebastian has,” says Marko. “But there should be an improvement from the team soon, otherwise it will become increasingly difficult to stay motivated,” he explains.
“An alternative would be to tick off the season now in order to go to next year. In that case, however, I believe that Vettel would no longer want to struggle to help the team,” said Marko.
This is how the Ukraine war affects Formula 1
That’s what Beat Zehnder from Alfa Romeo explained to us on ‘Sky’. “One problem is definitely the war in [der Ukraine]because 35 percent of the cargo planes come from Russia, and they are no longer allowed to fly,” says Zehnder.
“We have 2 different problems. One is sea freight. The demand is so huge that the ships are no longer sufficient and a lot is shifted to air freight,” he reports.
“And sea freight is also not without its problems, because the ships are getting bigger and bigger. Today we have container ships with 28,000 containers and loading and unloading takes five days, which used to be 1.5 days,” he explains.
He also emphasizes: “Freight prices have risen massively.” In Australia you had to pay “160 percent more than in 2020” for air freight. Therefore, there is currently a discussion about adjusting the cost cap again.
Perez: In the Red Bull from New York to Miami
With this designation, the new Miami Grand Prix also deviates from the classic naming of Formula 1. Logical, because the US Grand Prix is already taking place in Austin.
Anyway, Red Bull made a pretty cool video for the premiere of the new route!
Perez: In the Red Bull from New York to Miami!
Formula 1 makes its debut in Miami and Red Bull is celebrating with a pretty cool video! More Formula 1 videos
The most unusual Grand Prix designations
For many longtime Formula 1 fans, Imola will always remain the San Marino Grand Prix. Officially, the race will be held again in 2022 as the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
It may sound strange, but it is by no means an isolated case, as our photo series shows!
Photo gallery: The most unusual Grand Prix designations
Hamilton vs Verstappen
By the way, the duel between Hamilton and Verstappen, which we mentioned earlier, is shown here again in the video. A repeat this year is unlikely, Mercedes is currently too far behind for that.
Of course, the silver arrows could help if the conditions were to change a bit again this year. And the chance of rain in Imola is indeed not that small!
You can find our complete weather forecast for the Imola weekend here.
Alpine: Only 10 hp behind the top
The Renault engine was long considered a weakness in the Alpine package. According to team boss Otmar Szafnauer, this will no longer be the case in 2022. “We’ve taken a step forward with the power unit,” he emphasizes.
“We’re probably within 10hp of the best [Motor]”, says Szafnauer, who sees Alpine as “somewhere in the middle” in the overall pecking order and explains: “I think Viry did a great job.”
But he also knows: “Now it’s up to us to further develop the car.” Because the engine is no longer an excuse for bad results – at least in terms of performance.
Because the reliability of the new drive does not fit yet. Fernando Alonso has already used three engines on the first three race weekends and is therefore already on the verge of punishment.
19 years ago today…
… Michael Schumacher celebrated perhaps his most emotional Formula 1 victory. The then Ferrari driver won the 2003 Imola Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) and his teammate Rubens Barrichello.
The race was emotional because Schumacher’s mother Elisabeth had died a few hours before the race. However, both he and his brother Ralf decided to start.
No champagne was then sprayed on the podium.
© LAT
Mercedes: Ferrari and Red Bull out of reach
“We know that we don’t have the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull at the moment,” admits Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff before the Imola race and explains: “We’re working hard to reduce their lead.”
“It’s great to see how all team members in both factories are pulling together to achieve this goal,” he says, adding: “The factory worked hard over the Easter weekend to improve the car.”
“Of course we have to be realistic. It will take time to make the desired progress, but we learn as much as we can from every race and find ways to move forward,” said Wolff.
You can get even more statements from the Mercedes warehouse here!
The next lawsuit against Miami GP
In just over two weeks, Formula 1 will drive in Miami for the first time. But now a lawsuit against the race is running again. This has already become a running gag in our editorial office because it is not the first of its kind.
Specifically, this time it is about the fact that some residents have complained because, in their opinion, the noise pollution from Formula 1 could lead to injuries. Now the responsible judge demands the submission of appropriate evidence.
The lawsuit was already filed on March 1st. There isn’t much time left for a decision before the race. But I’ll lean out the window and say: The race will of course take place.
Curbs could become a problem
So back to the ground effect, which Vettel already mentioned earlier. This ensures that the 2022 Formula 1 cars are set significantly lower than the cars of previous years.
That already caused problems with the curbs in the first two races. And in Imola it could get even worse. An engineer reminds us of a scene between Hamilton and Verstappen last year.
At that time, the Mercedes driver had to drive over the curb to avoid a collision. “That would have severely damaged his underbody if it had happened to a 2022 car,” he tells us.
Here’s the scene from back then:
© Motorsport Images
Norris: Imola podium will be difficult
The McLaren driver finished third here last year. But this time he warns: “We’re not ready to fight for podiums again. But hopefully we can keep making progress and get the most out of the weekend.”
Although he and teammate Daniel Ricciardo ended up in Melbourne on P5 and P6. But without the failures of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, this result would have been impossible. The MCL36 is currently not strong enough for this.
“Australia was a more positive weekend for us but we know we still have a lot of work to do to get where we want to be,” said Norris. A podium in Imola would probably only be possible under exceptional circumstances.
Albon looking to build on Melbourne result
Unlike Aston Martin, Williams recently got his first point of the year in Australia thanks to Alexander Albon. “Hopefully we can use this momentum and push further this weekend,” said Albon.
“Historically, things went well for the team in Imola,” he recalls, not just referring to the eight victories that we mentioned earlier. In 2020, for example, Nicholas Latifi just barely missed the points in eleventh place.
And last year George Russell might have scored if he hadn’t collided with Valtteri Bottas. Will Williams be able to fight for points again in 2022? It probably won’t be easy.
Especially since Albon reminds: “It will be my first time taking part in an event with a sprint format.” Alongside Guanyu Zhou and Kevin Magnussen, he is the only “sprint rookie” at the weekend.
Vettel: First points in Imola?
Aston Martin is the only team not yet able to score a single championship point in 2022. Sebastian Vettel explains in front of Imola: “Imola is a real test for driver and vehicle. That’s how every Formula 1 track should be.”
He is looking forward to driving the new ground effect cars there. “It’s something special and it’s a bit reminiscent of the 1980s, which is cool,” said Vettel. In addition, there are two chances to score points this weekend.
The reason for this is the sprint race on Saturday. New this year is that there will be points for the first eight pilots. So maybe something will fall off for Aston Martin too…
Get well soon!
And another bad news before the weekend: RTL will broadcast its first race in 2022 in Imola – but without moderator Florian König. He cannot be there because of a corona infection in Italy.
“Unfortunately, I got caught, but luckily I’m symptom-free so far. The anticipation of accompanying Formula 1 again with the RTL team in time for the start of Europe was great, but it’s only been postponed,” says König .
“Now I’m looking forward to experiencing the F1 circus from the inside again at the British Grand Prix,” explains the presenter, who will be represented by Laura Papendick this weekend.
In addition to Imola, RTL is also showing the races in Silverstone, Zandvoort and Sao Paulo live on free TV this year.
Leclerc robbed
Sporty things are going well for the Monegasque, but there is bad news away from the racetrack. The Ferrari driver was robbed in Italy on Monday evening. A watch worth around 300,000 euros was stolen.
Particularly sneaky: The robbery is said to have happened when Leclerc gave autographs to a group of fans and took photos. Also present was Leclerc’s coach Andrea Ferrari. The incident was reported to the police.
Of course we hope that the thief will be caught!