The last time Formula 1 visited the Imola circuit was two years ago, since last year’s edition was suspended due to the floods that devastated the northern area of Italy. Twelve months later, the top category of motorsport returns for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with multiple changes that will affect the way the drivers approach the corners.
One of the biggest controversies in recent times was the use of asphalt loopholes on the tracks, which would cause the cars to go off the track without losing too much time, even in some cases gaining it, but that will not be the case on the Italian track.
In Piratella, the ninth lap, the area where the ‘Imola’ inscription appeared now has gravel, so it will not be possible to rush the outside area as Lando Norris already did in the 2021 classification in which a time with which he he would have been left with a third place on the grid. The Briton went too far, so his time was taken away and he was forced to start seventh, but things like that will not happen again because the gravel would have caused him to have an accident, or even brake and lose any option.
The same happens in Mineral Water, since turns 11, 12 and 13 will also have those stones that are so scary when you approach at full speed, so one slight mistake and everything will go to hell. Before, there was also a large asphalt loophole, with which the drivers could exceed the limits on the descent and, despite losing the braking reference, take a straight path without leaving themselves time and return to the route once they had passed the elevation of the chicane.
Lastly, and perhaps one of the changes that will dictate who takes pole position, is the Gresini chicane, in turns 14 and 15, which now have a gravel-filled escape at their exit instead of the asphalt that was present before the wall. There, if a car goes too fast at the first apex, it is very likely that it will go wide and step on the stones, as happened with Charles Leclerc in the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, although in the case of the Monegasque, he was able to resume the It starts after a slight touch because the asphalt was still there.
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