Grand Prix 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Off to Imola for round two of the 2021 season with 63 laps around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Round one proved quite exciting, if you can remember that far back. Red Bull look to have the fastest car but Mercedes won the tactical battle in Bahrain and created the opportunity for Hamilton to use all his skill and experience to pull off an unlikely win.

There are still many unanswered questions. How will Sergio Perez get on if he can make it round the formation lap? Are the McLaren cars really the third best on the grid? Can Lando beat Daniel again? Will Sebastian Vettel work out which pedal you push to make the car go faster? How quick is the Alpha Tauri? Will Alpine run Alonso on half tanks for a second race, just to allow him to run near the front for a few laps? Have Ferrari built a car capable of a podium? Which team will finish last, Haas or Williams? Just on Haas, will Mazepin make it past the first corner?

Lots to think about, lots to look forward to and, hopefully, lots to enjoy.

 

[F1Brits_90]

that was absolutely fascinating FP2. im going to say that in a extremely rare situation. i wouldnt want a wet race. because the pecking order is fasinating. not who im more surprised about. Ferrari, AlphaTauri or even williams. all 3 look far quicker than I thought they would. leclerc technically 1st (very promising on the long run). sainz 4th, Gasly 3rd & tsunoda 7th. even latifi in 9th in FP1 12th in FP2

its very confusing got more questions than answers currently

 

[Johnny Carwash]

It looks like the Red Bull of Max Verstappen took the scenic route back to the pits.

 

[sobriety]

How close is imola to the Ferrari factory again?

 

[cider_and_toast]

The Williams cars and in particular Latifi seem to have found some speed today.

 

[F1Brits_90]

is cold weather a factor, because this is the 1st race since turkey in november thats not been in the middle eastern heat. car have been used to 27 - 31c & we are as far down to 13c

 

[Johnny Carwash]

is cold weather a factor, because this is the 1st race since turkey in november thats not been in the middle eastern heat. car have been used to 27 - 31c & we are as far down to 13c

The rear of the Mercedes looks a lot more stable, it looked really sensitive in Bahrain when the breeze was up.

 

[Il_leone]

Vettel was slower than Stroll by 0.3seconds in both sessions and almost beaten by Williams ! Red Bull have lost a lot of track time which could hurt them

Ferrari is a different car to the one in Bahrain for sure the wind and conditions us helping

 

[The Artist.....]

The number of laps that are being deleted is just massive- I’ve never seen so many lap times deleted in a session! There seems to have been a backlash after last week’s farce of turn 4 - where the stewards couldn’t decide whether track limits were to be enforced, or not to be enforced!

 

[olegg]

 

[olegg]

 

[F1Brits_90]

qualifying seems absolutely wide open the gap from midfield to the front 2 seems very small. to a point if leclerc gasly or norris stuck it on the front row i wouldnt be as shocked as normally would

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Not what Tsunoda was hoping for in qualifying.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Nicolas latifi looks like he could finally break his Williams duck. He might not have beaten Russell but at least he beat .Alonso.

 

[olegg]

 

[cider_and_toast]

Perez out qualifying Verstappen and Latifi out qualifying Alonso should certainly raise a few eyebrows.

 

[olegg]

 

[Johnny Carwash]

View attachment 14507

In what could be a tight season maximising qualifying, could well make a huge difference come the end of the year.

 

[Il_leone]

Look where Vettel is behind a Williams on pace alone and slower than Stroll

 

[Il_leone]

I wonder if Mclaren will order Ricciardo to let Norris by because Lando appears faster

 

[FB]

Fascinating qualifying. Perez ahead of Verstappen. The two William's cars looking to have some pace. Lando having a stonker. Sainz and Vettel both under performing. Alsonso beaten in qualifying for the first time in many years. Alpha Tauri, well the one that made it out, looking speedy. And, of course, Lewis sitting there atop the pile, adding yet another pole to his list. I haven't bothered to mention the other Merc driver as it isn't worth it.