Race 7 - 2025 Emilia Romagna GP -Imola

[Nitrodaze]

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After the drama of Miami, we head into Ferrari territory, the heartland of the Tifosi. Expectations and emotions are high for a team in some disarray while battling to get on top of a troublesome car. While Hamilton was in Diva mode in Miami, Imola shall open to the war cry of the Tifosi.

Piastri stands tall with a lead of 16 points from Norris and 32 points clear of Verstappen in 3rd. A Piastri win in Imola would most likely settle the question of who is the leader for the remainder of the season at McLaren. A McLaren one-two may also transform the season into a two-horse race between the two McLaren cars. This is a difficult track to overtake, hence McLaren has to be on top of their qualifying performance. The last few races have shown that Mercedes and Redbull are just as quick as McLaren in qualifying trim, but slower in race trim. With how difficult it is to overtake on this track, a Mercedes win is also possible. For Italy, an Antonelli pole or race win would be their best consolation if Ferrari underwhelms. Of course, we cannot rule out Verstappen and Redbull under the circumstances.

Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be dry and sunny with occasional overcast. Temperatures to be within 21 to 23 degrees Celsius. All eyes are on Ferrari this weekend. Are they going to pull something out of the bag and win the race? Or is it going to be another clown show in front of the expectant Tifosis? Softest C6 tyres for the race, hence possibly a two-stop race.

Ferrari is expected to bring some upgrades to this race. I think Mercedes is also bringing upgrades to this race. I am not sure what Redbull is doing, but they have to make some sort of recovery this weekend or McLaren is about to stretch the gap to Redbull even further.
Can LeClerc win the Imola GP? Can Hamilton win the Imola GP against the odds? Either of these would send the Tifosi into a frenzy after the race.

There is the rumours that Horner is about to be shown the door out of Redbull. There is also a rumour that Alpine's most recent team principal is in line to take over in his place. Other talking points include the possibility that the Emillia Romagna race may be off the future race calendar when its contract runs out. Finally, Colapinto takes over the other Alpine seat next to Gasly from this race for the next six races.

I challenge you to hazard a guess at the podium sitters this weekend. Would it be awash with Papaya colours? Or would it be all Red with a hint of papaya?

[Nitrodaze]

It is all about the first corner for the winner of this race. Can Verstappen steal a win from the rapid McLarens?

[Used to be Starter]

An interesting grid for sure.

[airshifter]

The results leave me wondering if the McLarens and Max should have used the medium tire. All things considered that was a mighty lap by George to land in the top three in qually.

It's got to hurt right now to be Lando, but not nearly as much as it hurts for the Ferrari team. The Aston Martin upgrades seem to have worked well, and Williams is still looking strong as well.

With track position being so important here I wouldn't be surprised to see the podium the same as the top three today.

[Used to be Starter]

With track position being so important here I wouldn't be surprised to see the podium the same as the top three today.

There's a good chance you are right about that.

[airshifter]

I can't help myself.... stolen from the F1 Technical discord channel....


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[Nitrodaze]

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[Nitrodaze]

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[Nitrodaze]

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[Nitrodaze]

I think a Mercedes win is on the cards today. Russell is a dark horse behind Piastri.
Maybe not haha

[Nitrodaze]

What a great race!
Stars of the race are Verstappen for a great first corner overtake, Yuki for a 10-places overtake, and Hamilton for an 8-places overtake. Unlucky for Leclerc, who l think should have been on the podium today. That said, what about Albon and Williams? What a brilliant showing. Hadjah is becoming quite a star in the Racing Bull.

Surprised how the Mercedes faded as the race went on. Their strategy was a long way off the optimum and they paid dearly for it.

For me, Williams is shining and the star of the race. Sainz losing his seat at Ferrari and taking the William seat is now looking like a blessing in disguise.


What a way to celebrate their 400th race at Redbull with a race win. Verstappen the golden goose, that just keeps giving golden eggs.

@Airshifter, l wonder what your speed chart is saying this time round?

[Used to be Starter]

Interesting race. Hamilton had a good day for sure compared to where he started. Max had a great move into turn 1 at the start and pretty much dominated the race after that. Strong showing by Aston in qualifying evaporated in the race.

[Matthew]

Glad to see a good performance today by both Ferrari drivers after a disappointing performance in the qualifying. Hopefully, it will given them an idea of how to get good results in the future races.

[Nitrodaze]

Interesting race. Hamilton had a good day for sure compared to where he started. Max had a great move into turn 1 at the start and pretty much dominated the race after that. Strong showing by Aston in qualifying evaporated in the race.

Ferrari just witnessed HammerTime in their cars at this race. I hope Adami gets it.

[airshifter]

Overall a fun race to watch. The strategy differences and timing of the VSC and full SC kept resetting a lot of driver positions and making it interesting again.

Up front Max once again made it clear why he wins titles. Oscar didn't know he was there until the pass was already done, and though the pace difference wasn't huge, Max could stay in clean air and control the race. Combined with being able to run long and VSC/SC timing, he didn't have to work very hard to stay there.

I give Lando credit, he made some decent moves on track and kept fighting, even when he lost out on the luck of the incidents. I also liked that he didn't cry and whine, but overtook Oscar on merit after he got fresh rubber. Not that he really had anything for Max, but at least he stayed in the game.

As with any race with VSC/SC, there were winners and losers in the lottery draw of when it happened in combination with that cars strategy. I think both Williams cars looked strong, but on the flip side Astom Martin looked good as well, they just didn't have any lottery luck. I still don't really know what to think of Ferrari. They obviously had fairly good race pace, evident even in the practice sessions. But it hurt them badly on one lap qually pace. Finding the balance might be key, otherwise they will need some luck to crack the top 5 on a regular basis. And once again, they were a clown show with Leclerc this race, feeding him poor information on tires when it mattered, not that it mattered because they gave him bad scoop on Lewis pitting and the need to double stack if he took new softs. It worked out well for them this race but could have easily been better if they executed properly.


As for speed charts or HammerTime... :laugh:

Charles got to P6 on pure merit. Lewis got lucky on stops, and only passed cars with a tire offset with any authority at all. Kimi and George were the only two passes on track that are even worth mentioning. Charles had the faster lap average by over 4/10th through the race. If people count that as a win..... well go right ahead.

[FluffyYeti]

As a Hamilton fan I was happy for his decent result, but admittedly good luck helped quite a bit. I wish it was all him but it wasn't. Every race weekend I hope to see Lewis find some lost mojo or whatever but it never quite happens. Sure, it doesn't help that the Ferrari isn't as strong as it could be, but it would at least be great if he wasn't regularly outperformed by his own teammate.

[Nitrodaze]

As a Hamilton fan I was happy for his decent result, but admittedly good luck helped quite a bit. I wish it was all him but it wasn't. Every race weekend I hope to see Lewis find some lost mojo or whatever but it never quite happens. Sure, it doesn't help that the Ferrari isn't as strong as it could be, but it would at least be great if he wasn't regularly outperformed by his own teammate.

@FluffyYeti, it was expected that LeClerc would be ahead for the period that Hamilton learns the Ferrari SF25. This is what normally happens when a driver moves from one team to another. You will see the same pattern with Sainz and Ocon, who are both outperformed by their teammates. This period is very painful for the drivers and their fans, but it will pass.

Of all the drivers that have changed teams, Hamilton is performing better than the others. He has won a sprint race and has consistently finished in the top ten. Imola is the second time that he has beaten LeClerc without the aid of team orders, l might add, who has seven years of experience with the Ferrari machinery relative to him. The fact that he is only 8 points behind LeClerc is evidence of how strongly he is making progress with the Ferrari.

What a driver achieves at the end of the race depends on a combination of things, ranging from good in-race strategic thinking to capitalise on the situations of the race, to excellent performance, to being at the right place at the right time to maximise points haul by the end of the race.

At Imola, Hamilton demonstrated all of these things at the highest level. He capitalised on the first VSC to ensure he moved into the top 10. When the safety car came, he ensured he was on the right tyres at the right time to have a good tyre life delta to the car in front of him. It was both of these smart thinking that put him in fourth place and nearly in a podium position.

It is not always about driving faster than everyone else that determines excellence. It is also about out-thinking your opponents and getting ahead of them. At Imola, while LeClerc was having a meltdown in the car, Hamilton was cool and thinking smart. Their in-race approaches is why they ended up where they did at the end of the race. LeClerc finished 6th as his approach was full of frustration. Hamilton finished 4th as his approach was cool, calculated and methodical.

Those with very poor understanding of racing or overtly dislike Hamilton for his colour would say things like it was luck or the VSC and safety car is what made it possible for him. Yes, that is true, but these are normal and natural factors of racing. The brilliant racers are the ones who understand these situations and are able to exploit them to their advantage. That is why Verstappen was able to put a ten-second gap between himself and the nearest McLaren to ensure they were unable to catch up easily and challenge him for the race win. That is why Hamilton was able to move up from 12th place to fourth when other better-positioned cars like both Mercedes faded away and ended up behind him. Champions are those who manufacture their own luck with the ingredients of the race situations. And the multiple champions on track at Imola demonstrated this fact with perfection.

You, as a Hamilton fan, should see the positives and not the negatives. Leave the negatives to anti-Hamilton people. He is doing just fine and would improve greatly as the season progresses. The same can be said for Sainz and Ocon, who are both fantastic racers

[Bagwan]

"Those with very poor understanding of racing or overtly dislike Hamilton for his colour would say things like it was luck or the VSC and safety car is what made it possible for him."

This is too much .
You should immediately apologize .

[Nitrodaze]

"Those with very poor understanding of racing or overtly dislike Hamilton for his colour would say things like it was luck or the VSC and safety car is what made it possible for him."

This is too much .
You should immediately apologize .

Hi Baggie! Apologise to who?

[gm99]

@FluffyYeti, it was expected that LeClerc would be ahead for the period that Hamilton learns the Ferrari SF25. This is what normally happens when a driver moves from one team to another. You will see the same pattern with Sainz and Ocon, who are both outperformed by their teammates.


How is Ocon being outperformed by his teammate when he has more than double the points of Bearman and outqualified him 5-2?

[Bagwan]

Hi Baggie! Apologise to who?

To whom were you referring when you made the remark ?

[Nitrodaze]

To whom were you referring when you made the remark ?

I was not referring to any specific person. I am just reacting to the growing internet attacks and general targeted negative comments levelled at people in F1, at the moment. Doohan and his father experienced that ugliness recently. We have to make an effort to stamp out these sorts of things. We should only make unbiased comments without intentionally digging at anyone. Or attacking F1 people, or anyone for that matter, out of spite.

That is not to say we should not be critical if we can provide a good argument for why we take such a stance.

[Bagwan]

Would it not be easier to just say you were sorry for calling people ignorant or racist ?
You did ask Airshifter directly to comment .
I expected his "Hammer time" response would touch a nerve , and thus , expected you to return one .

You then responded to a first time poster with a sh!tty BS slag , seemingly about a member of this board who analyzes these races with great care in an incredibly unbiassed way .

Then , when someone calls you out , you play innocent ?
You write some drivel , thinking you've found a way to save face .

Think again .
My mother would have remarked "I'm not as green as I am cabbage looking" .

Apologize or be the fool .

[Nitrodaze]

Would it not be easier to just say you were sorry for calling people ignorant or racist ?
You did ask Airshifter directly to comment .
I expected his "Hammer time" response would touch a nerve , and thus , expected you to return one .

You then responded to a first time poster with a sh!tty BS slag , seemingly about a member of this board who analyzes these races with great care in an incredibly unbiassed way .

Then , when someone calls you out , you play innocent ?
You write some drivel , thinking you've found a way to save face .

Think again .
My mother would have remarked "I'm not as green as I am cabbage looking" .

Apologize or be the fool .


Here you go again Baggie! You talk of a member of this forum as the victim here, then you should name him or her and let us review all of the posts of this individual to see if an apology is deserved.

As for Airshifter's post, l did not read it as it was posted well after all the discussions of the race had concluded. And I still have not read it at this time of posting.

You are clearly offended by my post, which would suggest that you approve of people coming to the internet to post offensive statements toward people. Or to make light of the achievement of individuals in F1. If that is your view on this issue, then you are on the wrong side of the problem.

These individuals are the ones that need to apologise.

[airshifter]

As a Hamilton fan I was happy for his decent result, but admittedly good luck helped quite a bit. I wish it was all him but it wasn't. Every race weekend I hope to see Lewis find some lost mojo or whatever but it never quite happens. Sure, it doesn't help that the Ferrari isn't as strong as it could be, but it would at least be great if he wasn't regularly outperformed by his own teammate.

In the end, it is what it is. Being I was never a driver superfan type, I avoided the let downs when a driver expected to do much better doesn't. And the way I've seen it, it's really more of a car thing than most want to admit. Many of the greats are only considered that great due to being in the right car at the time, and without it they aren't as special as some will make them.

Lewis might come back against Charles, as he often improves through the year. But only time will tell.

Overall, I think both Lewis and Fernando are on the downhill side of their best days. They are still both great drivers all things considered, but even that vast skillset and experience they have is sometimes overcome by the young guns and their still lightning fast reflexes. Both still look good when the car is right, and can challenge many of the guys on the grid.





"Those with very poor understanding of racing or overtly dislike Hamilton for his colour would say things like it was luck or the VSC and safety car is what made it possible for him."

This is too much .
You should immediately apologize .

Nah Baggy, it's not like him to admit to his digs at anyone not a Lewis superfan and heaping praise on him at every opportunity. He will play any card he can to claim everyone else are the biased ones, attempt to portray himself as some noble guy that speaks out against any wrongdoing, all while questioning the integrity and character of others.

Though I appreciate you calling BS when you smell it, we all know the road this goes down. First denial, then playing victim, and never engaging in any real conversations that support his views. It's the life of a superfan obsessed with a single driver and trying to prop them up at all costs. I mean, he's even played the race card against a forum member that literally named his son after Lewis. And apparently you warrant an attack on you as well, since you are "on the wrong side of the problem".

I'v learned long ago that the attacks and opinions of those that know nothing about me mean just that.... nothing. I'm fairly certain none of these unwarranted jabs keep you awake at night either.