Grand Prix d’Emilie-Romagne: Race outlook

Perez favorite?

Unlike Bahrain three weeks ago, it is not a Red Bull on pole but rather Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, once again achieving an outstanding lap in qualifying to secure his 99th career pole position.

However, this time, both Red Bulls are on the lookout. The surprise comes from the fact that it is indeed Sergio Perez who will start alongside the seven-time world champion and not Max Verstappen. It is an event in itself since the Dutchman had not started behind his teammate since Monza 2019, and he had not been able to set any time during that session. So, it has not happened in a regular race since Canada of the same year!

If Sergio Perez is positioned as the favorite, it is because he has a set of soft tires that could allow him to make the difference compared to the mediums of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Then, we know about his exceptional tire management to withstand, especially on a track where it is notoriously difficult to overtake with the current cars.

The Mexican does not hide his ambitions: What a result for us! Knowing that I can win the race tomorrow is clearly a great feeling. There is a lot of positives to take from today but I made a small mistake in the last corner. I was so close to the pole position.

He also knows that Lewis Hamilton will be alone facing his two rivals since Valtteri Bottas finished in an anonymous eighth place, highlighting the performance of Sir Lewis. Now it remains to be seen if the pit wall will try to optimize the race of the team’s favorite child rather than the newcomer’s, while Red Bull is perfectly aware of having the weapons to truly fight for the title.

Norris’s missed opportunity.

What is at stake in a qualification? Just a few centimeters. It is this difference that led Lando Norris outside the track limits and therefore the cancellation of his second lap of Q3. The British driver can regret even more because this time would have allowed him to climb to third place, ahead of Max Verstappen.

In the end, he finds himself behind his teammate and has to settle for seventh place on the grid, which significantly compromises his chances of shining tomorrow. He couldn’t hide his disappointment: “We only did one run in Q1 and in Q2. I think it’s the first time I’ve done that. So everything was looking good but I pushed a bit too hard in my last lap, which was very good, and I went a bit wide and the time was invalidated.”

McLaren’s leaders could therefore have serious regrets because, on his side, Charles Leclerc did not fail to make the most of his resurgent Ferrari, to place himself alongside Max Verstappen. While Carlos Sainz messed up, McLaren had a great opportunity to score big points against their declared rivals. Their task will now be even more difficult and the strategists in Woking will have to find the key to bounce back.

Gasly makes an impression against Tsunoda

Formula 1 can have a very short memory. While Pierre Gasly had a superb 2020 season, marked by his victory in Monza, he had a compromised Bahrain Grand Prix due to his collision at the beginning of the race. This only further highlighted the spotlight on his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

But in Imola, the French driver once again demonstrated his reliability and speed over one lap, securing a very good 5th position on the grid. In contrast, the Japanese driver made a rookie mistake by destroying his AlphaTauri in the first lap of Q1, which condemns him to a complicated race on the narrow Emilia Romagna circuit. For the French driver, it will be important to capitalize by scoring big points at the end of the race.

Alonso overtaken by his teammate

If the end of Max Verstappen’s domination was an event, the same goes for the conclusion of Fernando Alonso’s, who had never been surpassed by Stoffel Vandoorne since Malaysia 2017! To achieve this, Esteban Ocon did it in style as he set the ninth fastest time of the session while the Spaniard had to settle for the 15th time, equaling the time set by Nicholas Latifi in his Williams.

For the Norman, whose contract is ending at the end of the season, it is crucial to seal the deal at the end of tomorrow’s race to score the first points for the new Alpine team.

However, the Asturian bull is never as dangerous as when threatened. We know its pace in the race and its sense of attack constantly, but it is hard to imagine how it could outsmart enough rivals to climb back into the top 10.