Ferrari looking to continue strong run of form in front of tifosi | 2022 Imola GP. Ferrari looking to continue strong run of form.

After the first three races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, it is now time for the first European round of the championship, which will be made even more interesting by the fact that it will also be the first Sprint weekend of 2022. Scuderia Ferraria has made the headlines in Australia last time out and the Maranello team will be hoping to continue to do so for all the right reasons at the Imola circuit.

Ferrari the favourites in front of the home fans
It has been a dream start to 2022 for Charles Leclerc on his side of the Scuderia Ferrari garage at least. The Monegasque driver started the season with an incredible win at the Bahrain circuit, defating Max Verstappen after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel and then finished a solid P2 in Saudi Arabia, this time unable to manage the last few laps of the race due to some some unlucky Safety car periods. The best race for Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari took place in Australia, with a comfortable win for the Monegasque driver, who led every lap at the Albert Park Circuit. Two victories, two poles, a second place and all three fastest lap points. A return of 71 points from a possible 78 is a formidable one, and it leaves him with a significant advantage in the drivers’ championship ahead of the fourth round of the 2022 Formula 1 campaign.

Charles Leclerc can afford to fail to score this weekend and he is still guaranteed to be leading the standings leaving Imola, but that is an option no one is taking into consideration. The Maranello team will be looking to put on a show in front of thousands of Ferrari fans which are eager to create an incredible atmosphere at Imola during the Emilia Romagna GP weekend. Charles won the second race of his career at Monza two years ago on what was a special day for him and Ferrari, but now the added bonus is the prospect of fighting for the Formula 1 world championship for the first time in his career.

This year’s visit to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari comes with Charles Leclerc now the clear title favourite, and Ferrari having marked themselves out as the team to beat with a dominant victory in Melbourne. In front of a capacity crowd at Imola, it’s going to be some atmosphere as he goes for a third win from four. At the same time, Carlos Sainz will be looking to bounce back after his disappointing Melbourne weekend and maybe even take his first F1 win, which would be a memorable moment in front of the Tifosi.

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The first Sprint of the 2022 season.
The first three rounds of the campaign have been full of exciting racing, but there’s going to be an additional challenge for the teams this weekend as the Sprint makes its first appearance of 2022. The special weekend format was tested for three times during the previous championship and the FIA has confirmed it for three more events in 2022: Imola will be the first to host the Sprint this weekend, while Austria and Brazil will also get this opportunity later in the year.

The majority of aspects around the format are the same, but there are some important changes which will have a greater impact on how teams approach the Sprint race weekends. You can check out how F1’s sprint qualifying format is different in 2022 here.