Going into the qualifying session at the Imola GP, Ferrari thought they would be on the back foot. The Scuderia brought an upgrade to help combat their rear-end weakness, but this failed to help them when setting their positions on the grid.
The problem with Ferrari is their qualifying pace, shown once again as their drivers exited during Q2. This leaves Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a mountain to climb. Imola is a difficult track to overtake at, with only 1 DRS zone. The pair might suffer a difficult race day in front of the adoring Italian crowd.
Ferrari drivers expect a difficult race after Q2 exit
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton will start the race from P11 and P12, respectively. This means the task of securing a good result in front of the Tifosi looks slim. Ferrari lacks one-lap speed, despite having a good race pace. Overtaking at a track like Imola is difficult as the cars are big and the track is tight. And Leclerc expects a hard Sunday.
Speaking to Sky Sports after qualifying, the Monégasque said: “I can fight as much as I want, but I cannot do miracles. This is what there is in the car and I’m trying to extract the maximum from it.”
“We are just nowhere. There’s just not enough performance in the car and I keep repeating myself, there’s not the potential that I would hope in the car at the moment, we need to be better.”
Oscar Piastri Takes Sensational Pole in Dramatic Imola Qualifying
Hamilton added: “In Q2 in run one it felt decent but when we put the new tyres on for some reason it just didn’t have any grip and couldn’t go any faster.”
Ferrari will need to attack on a circuit which is kinder to tyres than others. However, Pirelli has gone a step softer, meaning the tyres could degrade more. The medium tyre this season is the soft from last year. This brings strategy into play, something Ferrari can use in their favour to charge through the field.
Aston Martin catches out Ferrari
Despite the new upgrades brought to Imola, Aston Martin looked to have no pace during the practice sessions. This weekend looked to be another disappointing weekend for the Silverstone-based team. However, it looked as if the Green team was sandbagging as they learnt about their new car.
The upgraded car has pace, as shown by Fernando Alonso qualifying in P5 and Lance Stroll getting through into Q3. This led to the two Aston Martin drivers knocking out the Ferrari pair. But they did it with a different tyre strategy.
F1 Imola Upgrades: Which Teams Are Bringing the Biggest Changes for the Emilia-Romagna GP?
Aston Martin bolted on a pair of medium tyres to both cars to catch the field out. The medium tyres are only slightly slower than the C6 soft tyre. However, they can last an entire lap with the drivers pushing. The C6 is much more grippy, but when the drivers push and the tyre isn’t in the right operating window, the softest compound won’t yield the grip.
This caught Ferrari out, but it gives them an advantage over Aston Martin in the race. The Scuderia will have a fresh set of medium tyres, while the Aston’s won’t. This might give the Prancing Horse an advantage. Ferrari also has a much better race pace, so if they can get clean air, they should be able to progress when others pit and overcut rivals.
Can Ferrari rescue their race in front of their adoring fans? Let us know in the comments below.
