The first Sprint race of the 2022 Formula 1 season took place at the Imola circuit and saw Scuderia Ferrari get on level terms with its closest rivals ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, round four of the 2022 F1 campaign. This was possible as a result of a great performance from Carlos Sainz, who was able to complete a great climb up the order: after starting from tenth place, Carlos Sainz made up six places and finished fourth, thus putting himself on the second row of the grid for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Charles Leclerc had a stunning start and took the lead, but unfortunately could not defend against Max Verstappen in the last laps of the Sprint race, due to tyre degradation which Ferrari will analyze ahead of tomorrow’s main race. Therefore, he will once again line up on the front row alongside the Red Bull driver.
Scuderia Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies shares his thoughts on the outcome of the first Sprint race of the 2022 Formula 1 season:
“It was a particularly busy Sprint from our point of view and the most important aspect of it was to have got Carlos back onto the second row, after he did a good job of moving up the order from tenth. Charles got a perfect start and was running at a very strong pace in the opening laps, although not quite enough to distance the Red Bulls. That’s why, in the closing stages, when he had a bit more tyre graining than Verstappen, he was unable to fend him off.” – he explained
“Carlos was very adept at executing the race to the letter, in the way we had planned. He got off the line well and then he waited patiently in the opening laps before picking off all the cars ahead of him that were realistic targets. Having him on the second row is important for the whole team because it puts us on equal terms with our closest rivals in what I expect to be a very tactical race.
We will see some cars running quicker at the start of the stints and others that will be stronger towards the end. We have to take all these factors into consideration and work out the best possible strategy. The race looks to be open and we want to give it our all to repay the many fans who have come to the Grand Prix to thank them for their support, not just this weekend, but especially when things were not going that well for us.” – the Ferrari Racing Director explained, as reported by the Maranello team’s official website at the end of the Sprint race in Imola.
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