© Getty Images10 Things You Need To Know About ImolaLast year marked our first visit to the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari since 2006. Here's all you need to know about a track which exudes nostalgia.
Last year's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix saw the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, aka ‘Imola’, host Italy’s 100th round of the F1 World Championship. Of the four Italian circuits to host grands prix, it is the only one to do so with two different (now three different) names.
Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix 70 times, a circuit on public roads held the Pescara Grand Prix in 1957, Mugello hosted the Tuscan Grand Prix last month and Imola held the Italian Grand Prix in 1980, followed by 26 years of the San Marino Grand Prix before returning with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2020.
Imola ostensibly hosted the Italian Grand Prix in 1980 because Monza was upgrading its circuit safety but, as usual in F1, there was a morass of political and contractual elements involved as well. When a freshly compliant Monza took back the Italian Grand Prix in 1981, Imola received the consolation of a regular slot on the calendar for the San Marino Grand Prix. In case you were wondering, Imola is around 100km from San Marino in the province of Emilia-Romagna, after which this year’s race is named.
David Coulthard On Track In Imola 2006© Red Bull Racing
The 1982 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola is high on any list of infamous F1 races. With the FISA-FOCA cold war getting hot again, many of the FOCA-aligned teams boycotted the race. The establishment manufacturer teams supporting FISA – Ferrari, Renault, Alfa Romeo – were joined by the Tyrrell, Osella and Toleman FOCA teams (who cited contractual obligations to race) on a 14-car grid (of which only a dozen started). The big guns of McLaren, Williams, Lotus, Ligier and Brabham, together with Arrows, Fittipaldi, March, Ensign and Theodore did not.
‘82s second moment of infamy came at the end of the race. With both the Renaults out with engine trouble, the two Ferraris were cruising to victory a minute ahead of their nearest competitors. Ferrari requested their drivers back off, Gilles Villeneuve in the lead complied; Didier Pironi slipped by to take the win. There are claims and counter-claims about the incident. Villeneuve vowed to never speak to Pironi again,. And sadly Giles died two weeks later at Zolder.
Imola Shines On Saturday© Getty Images
The death of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994 tends to overshadow all other conversations about this circuit, one aspect of which is how magisterial Senna was around the fast, narrow track.
Senna holds two records at Imola. His eight pole positions at the circuit is a record he shares with Michael Schumacher (at Suzuka) and Lewis Hamilton (at Albert Park). However, his seven consecutive poles between 1985 and 1991, the last five of which came in Honda-powered cars, are a record he holds alone.
Being a proper, old-school track, Imola’s corners and chicanes have names rather than numbers. In sequence, they are Tamburello, Villeneuve, Tosa, Piratella, Acque Minerali, Variante Alta and Rivazza. The big change from the last time F1 raced here is that the Variante Bassa has been removed, and it’s a straight run from Rivazza all the way to Tamburello (the chicane is still there for bike races).
An Eventful Qualifying In Italy© Getty Images
While the colour scheme at Imola is green-and-white, this place is red to its core – more so even than Monza. Located just an hour from Maranello, Enzo Ferrari was present when the foundation stone was laid in 1950s. Originally named after the Santerno River which flows alongside the track from Tamburello, and behind the paddock, in 1970 it became the Autodromo Dino Ferrari, in honour of Ferrari’s son, Alfredo ‘Dino’ Ferrari, who died in 1956 at the age of 24. Enzo’s own name was added after his death in 1988. Back in the day, while the Tifosi thronged the whole circuit, nowhere was it more apparent than on the hillside at Rivazza, which would become a sea of scarlet.
One of the nicest things about going to Imola has always been the array of merchandising stalls on the approaches to the circuit, which tend to have an impressive offering of vintage F1 paraphernalia. This, however, pales into insignificance, when compared to the Mostra Scambio. The vintage car and – more significantly – vintage car parts open-air fair which usually descends upon the circuit in early autumn. It’s the place to be if you’re in the market for hard-to-locate original spares.
Vitantonio Liuzzi Leads DC In Imola 2005© Red Bull Racing
9.IntroducingTheEnergyStation
At the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, Red Bull unveiled the Energy Station. It looked like a spaceship had landed in the paddock. While smaller than the current unit, the original Energy Station felt bigger because it housed only the one team. It also introduced a more liberal attitude to paddock hospitality: ‘Chilled Thirstday’ became a fixture – though it took a few of the other teams a while to come around to the notion of wandering into our motorhome and up the stairs to the bar for a beer after work.
When the Team launched in 2005, David Coulthard was driving one car with the other shared between Christian Klien and Vitantonio Luizzi. After Klien took part in the first three races, Tonio made his F1 debut on home soil at Imola. These days he’s a familiar face in the F1 paddock again, volunteering as the driver steward. This year he’s been in the chair for the Austrian and Anniversary races.
