As one of the classic circuits left on the calendar, Imola has plenty of supporters that would like to stay where it is.
However, since its return to the schedule, the track has failed to produce spectacular races in a consistent manner, so there are also fans who wouldn’t miss it should it disappear after this season.
Both of the statements above are not exclusive to Imola, as there are plenty of circuits that divide the opinion of fans, and as the F1 calendar continues to expand beyond Europe, more classic tracks are likely to face an uncertain future.
Has Imola’s brief return justified a longer stay on the calendar? Here’s a recap of the recent races.
2020
Hamilton won Imola’s first race after its return
Grand Prix Photo
One could argue any sort of race was a good race in 2020, when it looked like the pandemic could have led to the cancellation of the entire season.
As F1 rushed to find events that could replace all the cancelled flyaways, Imola found its way back onto a 17-race calendar. It was a rare addition to a schedule that has almost exclusively expanded to new venues in recent times, but one that was welcomed by many fans of classic circuits.
The race was decent enough, although it highlighted the difficulty the current generation of cars have with overtaking on layouts such as Imola’s.
Valtteri Bottas had started from pole position ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who lost second place at the start to Max Verstappen.
The order at the top remained unchanged despite Bottas having floor damage as a result of debris on track. When the pitstops began around lap 20, Bottas was the first to pit as the leader of the race.
Hamilton extended his first stint by several laps and, thanks to the damage to Bottas’s car, the Briton was able to keep the gap steady. Then, on lap 30, a virtual safety car allowed Hamilton to make his pitstop and return to the track in the lead, a position he managed to retain without too much trouble until the end of the race.
A late safety car made things more intriguing for a moment, but Hamilton’s pace was superior and allowed him to win by nearly six seconds from Bottas and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had benefitted from Verstappen’s retirement.
Ultimately, the race was rather straightforward, and strategy played a bigger role than on-track action.
Verdict: Not fantastic, but not worse than other races elsewhere
2020 Emilia Romagna GP race report
2021
The 2021 race remains the best one so far
The 2021 grand prix remains the highlight of Imola’s short stint on the current F1 calendar: It was a race full of drama and twists, even though a familiar winner emerged in Verstappen.
Heavy rain before the race created treacherous conditions, so all drivers opted for wet-weather tyres. Verstappen made a lightning start from third on the grid, overtaking pole-sitter Hamilton at the first corner with an aggressive move and seizing the lead as the Mercedes driver bounced on the speed bumps after going off track.
It only took two laps before the first safety car was deployed, when Nicolas Latifi crashed his Williams after contact with Nikita Mazepin‘s Haas at Acque Minerali.
