Imola in Italy is formerly known as the San Marino Grand Prix, now the ”Formula 1 Rolex Gran Premio Del Made in Italy e Dell’Emilio–Romagna 2022”. I ain’t joking and it’s not fake. Imola is a track that I have always loved and a favorite to many loyal fans. The 4.9km circuit’s is old-school and has no run-off areas. Drivers will soon find themselves in the gravel trap or grass, if they make an error. Imola was an F1 track that was featured every year through to 2006 and since we faced a very uncertain season, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with most races being cancelled because of restrictions. F1 introduced new tracks, and some familiar names were added back to the calendar with Imola being included to the delight of the drivers and the fans. Check out our Best Online Bookmakers to place your bets for the upcoming Imola Grand Prix!
| Driver | Constructor | Odds from BetMGM(International) | Odds from Caesars(US) | Odds from FanDuel(US) |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +120 | +110 | 🌟Click Here for Odds with FanDuel🌟 |
| Max Verstrappen | Redbull | +175 | 🌟Click Here for Odds from Caesars🌟 | +155 |
| Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 🌟Click Here for Odds with BetMGM🌟 | +700 | +850 |
| See More Odds From | Draftkings F1 Odds 🏎 | Bet365 F1 Odds 🏎 | BetMGM F1 Odds 🏎 | 888 F1 Odds 🏎 |

Sitting Peacefully: The memorial dedicated to the late Ayrton Senna at Imola
I recommend that you take a look at the onboard footage for the 2020 and 2021 races since the racing in Imola can be hard, fast and close, the mentioned onboard footage demonstrates this very well. It has seen its dark days as well, with the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix being the most devastating weekend in sports’ history. Rubens Barichello crashed heavily at the chicane, travelling 225km/h (between turns 16 and 19). Barichello was unconscious as a result of the crash and he broke his nose but survived, although he didn’t race. After a tremendous impact on his first season of F1, Roland Ratzenburger who unfortunately lost his life in qualifying after he failed to navigate the high-downforce Villeneuve corner, his front wing broke and became lodged under the car, which crashed into the outside wall at 314.9 km/h. Finally, and most regrettable of all, we lost Ayrton Senna in the restart of the race after he was involved in a huge impact on his third outing for Williams in F1. Aytron, considered to be the greatest racer of all time was truly exceptional. A bronze statue memorial dedicated to Aytron sits behind the barriers, only metres from the site of the impact. Every race, the drivers visit his memorial almost religiously as an act of respect and admiration. It’s a chilling reminder of the dangers of motorsports, but also a reminder of how far we have come in terms spectator and driver safety.
Charles Leclerc’s dream start has been so wonderful for his army of Tifosi. Ferrari fans around the world are excited for another weekend of what looks like Ferrari dominance. The race in Imola will be seeing Ferrari running some upgrades but not much considering their outstanding performance in pre-season testing. It’s quite amazing how they managed to get this new regulation formula right the first time, and with no updates since testing began in Barcelona. According to the grapevine, they will bring in a new floor as well as an upgraded diffuser. Although this weekend won’t be a great choice for trying new things on a car, as we’ll once again be witnessing the new(ish) sprint format. Mattia Binotto, if you’re reading I’d just stick to the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality and get on with it.
The F1 sprint is a 100km race without pit stops. Drivers will race straight to the chequered flag, just as they have last year. The championship saw the top three drivers finish with extra points which proved crucial last year. This time round, the top eight drivers who finish the race will receive points, P1 will get eight points instead of three, with each subsequent position getting one less. It’s a nice mixture, but I doubt it will bother Leclerc too much at this stage. These points will be applicable to both constructors’ and drivers’ championships. It sounds like fun and productive, right? The sprint weekend has produced some exciting racing, but it also mixes up the order for Sunday’s race, the format will be unchanged. So, what’s the deal? This is how it will look for this weekend:
Friday Afternoon: Qualifying. Wait, what? After just one practice session, we’ll move into qualifying on Friday afternoon. The qualifying order will determine the starting positions for the Sprint race which will take place the next day.
Saturday Afternoon Sprint Race. A 100km race with no pit stops. Just racing. What are they racing for, exactly? The finishing order will decide the grid positions for Sunday’s Grand Prix. This means that if Lewis Hamilton qualifies on Friday, but finishes third in the sprint race, he will start Sunday’s race from third on the grid.
Sunday – Race day. The sprint race results determine the starting position of the drivers for the race.
It sounds like fun, right?! Probably. It is really necessary? Perhaps not. Although I may be considered a traditionalist, I believe that Sunday’s Grand Prix should still be decided by qualifying. Yes, there should be a Sprint race but it should perhaps be a separate championship. The starting positions for the sprint races could also be determined by the drivers’ championship order allocation. Anyway, rant over.
This format offers more betting options. Betfair in Europe has some excellent markets, which offer some great betting opportunities for Sprint. FanDuel in the USA doesn’t appear to offer the same markets. The Scuderia is still the best bet and they are the favorites going in this weekend, but don’t discount RedBull. They will be trying to make up points for their poor start to the season. Mercedes is riding any wave of success that they can find. As they improve their car and continue to upgrade it, I believe they will be fighting in the top three in the constructors’ championship, especially with RedBull, again. Sergio Perez is a fan of this track and it seems he loves it. There’s some footage onboard with him going wheel-to-wheel with Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon, at the last two races. His recent form and the fact that his contract doesn’t cover next year means he doesn’t have a seat, it’s clear that he has something to prove. Make sure to check and compare the best sports betting sites, fully reviewed by us for all your Grand Prix bets!
Technically, Imola is the home race of Alpha Tauri, an Italian outfit. Their factory is only a few kilometers from the track, so they use it for testing. Being RedBull’s sister-team, it would be reasonable to expect them to receive some Adrian Newey’s aero goodies. Unfortunately, they are struggling and seem to be on the backside. Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly are great drivers and it’s no doubt that they’re aiming for a strong result at their home race this weekend. This is a team worth watching out for. Although technically this circuit is Alfa Romeo’s home circuit, it’s not the way you would expect. Alfa is actually a Swiss company, Sauber. They’ve been racing since the 80’s. They’re currently rebranding as Alfa Romeo and they run Ferrari power units, and the top Alfa bosses would love to see them succeed in Italy. Haas is another Ferrari-powered team. K-Mag, the Danish driver, is very present and active in his return to the sport, racing hard extracting everything out of his car. I expect Ferrari would to give their full support in terms mechanical and engine assistance to both these teams. Ferrari’s form alone would be enough to prove their dominance however, their engine customer teams finishing in points, right behind them would be the cherry on the cake.




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