The 2022 F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race was a game of chess, one which is probably destined to last until the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The Ferrari F1-75 is the most solid single-seater overall, but Red Bull does not miss even the smallest of opportunities to capitalize on their strengths and in the Scuderia’s garage they know it very well.
The 21 laps that completed the first sprint race of 2022 at Imola are an example of this: Charles Leclerc overtook Max Verstappen at the start (as the Red Bull driver struggled with a chronic clutch problem) and went off in the lead of the race.
It seemed done for the Ferrari number 16, but the appearance of increasing graining on the right front tire was enough to reverse the scenario. Max Verstappen immediately saw his chance, moved to the DRS zone and made the move which allowed him to win the Sprint race and the eight points reserved for the winner, with less than two laps from the checkered flag.
There was not even time to see the cars return to the pits and the interviews were already done.
So what happened to Ferrari? Is this an alarm ahead of tomorrow’s main event? “I pushed hard at the beginning to build a bit of advantage over Max and get away from the DRS zone – commented Charles Leclerc – because I knew I would be vulnerable if that happened. But I paid the price as the race continued, because the graining progressively arrived and in the last two laps I really struggled. But it is only the sprint race, we have taken note of this problem and we will see what to do in view of tomorrow ”.
Charles Leclerc’s problem (and not only his) is that the effect of the DRS on the Imola straight is considerable, and when it is used by Red Bull, which is the car with the best top speed, it leaves no chance for anyone, Ferrari included. Aware of this danger, Charles pushed a lot in the early stages (the safety car did not help him) and this forcing was paid at the end of the race. This scenario is confirmed by Carlos Sainz’s race, as the Spanish driver had to recover and forced in the first laps to keep pace with the cars that preceded.
The Spaniard only started to push as hard as possible when he overtook Danaiel Ricciardo, but he still had rubber and finished the race without problems, managing to overtake Norris without any loss in performance.
It’s a thin line, pushing at the beginning involves a price to pay at the end of the stint, but the scenario will not be the same tomorrow. The first part of the race (net of surprises) will not be covered with soft tires, and the mediums should not suffer from graining as was the case with the softs.
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But at the same time we should also take into consideration the fact that Max Verstappen will most likely not have the same problems suffered today at the start, and Charles Leclerc (who will have Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz behind him) could this time start the race as a ‘hunter’
The race pace of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, apart from tire problems, was confirmed to be very similar. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be fighting for the win – admitted Charles Leclerc – but obviously we won’t be if the problems seen today are confirmed again”.
In other words, if the tires work, the Monegasque seems really optimistic.
The scenario is not yet fully clear, but without the need to use the soft tyres, Ferrari should no longer have to deal with graining issues at Imola. It will be very interesting to see the choice that Red Bull will make, as the team has focused a lot on softs already in this morning’s FP2 session with long-runs, and not everyone in the paddock excludes that Max can start the race with a set of ‘reds’. This, of course, if the rain will not arrive: at the moment the possibility of rain is evaluated at 60%. In this case it would be yet another reset of the weekend and a final scenario with more question marks than certainties.
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