Federation Internationale de l'Automobile

Preview

The Imola Race Pack

21 April 2022
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The FIA Formula 2 Championship resumes this weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, after a dramatic season-opening double header in Sakhir, Bahrain and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and a brief interlude of in-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

MP Motorsport’s Felipe Drugovich commanded the fast-flowing streets of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit last time out in Saudi Arabia. Now with an 11-point lead in the standings and an emboldened sense of confidence, the Brazilian driver finds himself in a strong position for the start of the European season in Imola.

It was an up and down weekend in Jeddah for Carlin’s Liam Lawson, after the joy of a Sprint Race victory, the New Zealander was forced to retire from Sunday’s Sprint Race. The Red Bull junior will no doubt be pushing to return to the impressive level of consistency of display in the first three races of the season.

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FROM THE GRID – Enzo Fittipaldi, Charouz Racing System

“I'm very much looking forward to racing in Imola. I think for Formula 2 and Formula 3 it's a track that should be on the calendar. It's great that it is this year because it's an amazing track, it's extremely technical, it's very fast and it's a track where there is no margin for error, so you have to be on point there. Imola is a very historic track and I really like the layout, it's an amazing track. I've driven there in Formula 4 and Formula Regional, and for a Qualifying lap, it really is insane.

“I think Imola is going to be quite difficult on the rear tyres. I don't know how difficult but I'm expecting rear overheating and issues in the races. We're already looking out for that, but to be honest, if you look at the weather forecast it's looking like there's going to be a lot of rain and that will change a lot of things.

“For sure all the action will most likely be in the front straight, all the other parts of the track are going to be kind of difficult to overtake. The only real possible overtaking place will be into Turn 1 so that big straight and big DRS zone is where I think the majority of the action will be. So it will be very important to have a strong last sector and a good exit out of the last corner, so you can try and overtake into Turn 1.”

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LAST TIME OUT – IN-SEASON TESTING

Drugovich picked back up where he left off at the end of Round 2 at the start of in-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last week, topping a gloomy first session with a 1:29.755 to see off ART Grand Prix’s Théo Pourchaire and DAMS’ Ayumu Iwasa.

Day 1 afternoon session saw Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung go quickest after breaking the 1m 28s barrier for the only time. Hitech Grand Prix’s Marcus Armstrong finished second ahead of Iwasa.

Conditions remained dreary on the second day of running, though DAMS’ Roy Nissany made the most of a relatively dry track to go quickest in the morning session. The Israeli driver finished ahead of Trident’s Richard Verschoor and a familiar face in the top three, Iwasa.

Wind and rain continued throughout the afternoon, with a 1:29.752 from Armstrong enough to head up the standings in the second session. The New Zealander beat out Drugovich and Hitech teammate Jüri Vips.

After two cold days in Catalunya, Drugovich set the fastest time of the test in a sunny penultimate session. The Championship leader beat Lawson and Virtuosi Racing’s Jack Doohan in a closely contested Qualifying simulation.

It was Vips who topped the final afternoon session, setting a 1:29.888 to go quickest in a stint that was focused on long runs. Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes finished second ahead of Charouz Racing System’s Enzo Fittipaldi.

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TYRE TALK

For the third round of the season Formula 2 will use the yellow-walled medium compound, and new purple-walled supersoft compound.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director

“While Formula 1 has already visited in the past couple of years, Imola will present a new challenge for the Formula 2 teams and drivers – though many of them will be familiar with it from other categories. It’s an Italian circuit with quite an old-school feel which I’m sure the drivers will love, and it features a wide variety of different corners and speeds to test their skills – as well as the tyres. Alongside the P Zero Yellow medium compound, the new P Zero Purple supersoft will make its debut at Imola. The two steps between the compounds will provide some interesting strategy options, which could be valuable given the limited number of overtaking opportunities around the circuit.”

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KEY STATS

  • Felipe Drugovich added a fourth victory to his F2 career tally at Jeddah, giving the Brazilian the highest number of wins on this years’ grid.
  • The MP Motorsport ace also has the highest number of podiums on the grid with ten. After adding another podium to their career records in Saudi Arabia, Jüri Vips and Jehan Daruvala are tied on nine apiece.
  • Ayumu Iwasa the highest placed rookie in the Championship standings after two rounds, having picked up point finishes in three of the first four races.
  • Just two drivers, Drugovich and Vips, have had four consecutive point finishes so far this season.
  • Five teams made it to the podium at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and eight teams collected points.
  • Back-to-back Sprint Race podiums for Richard Verschoor mean that Trident has already scored as many podiums this year as in 2021.
  • The 4.909 KM long Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is the first of two new tracks on this year’s Formula 2 calendar.
  • Imola is the third Italian track to feature on a modern Formula 2 calendar, after Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Mugello Circuit.

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