Race 7 - 2025 Emilia Romagna GP -Imola
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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?
