If nothing else, this weekend's Rolex Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell Emilia-Romagna - to give it its full title - is likely to go into the records books as having the longest race name in the entire history of the sport.

Having hosted its last F1 Grand Prix in 2006, the iconic Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari appeared lost to the sport until 2020 when the pandemic saw a number of old circuits brought out of retirement.

Though forever remembered for that tragic weekend in 1994 which saw Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna perish, the Imola circuit was always popular with drivers and fans and from the opening practice session in 2020 the sport felt it had returned 'home'.

Pressed into service again 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic, the circuit which has hosted the Italian Grand Prix once in 1980, and 26 San Marino Grands Prix has now secured a deal to continue staging the Emilia Romagna race until 2025.

While it is said that Monza is the home of Ferrari, in fact Imola is much closer to the Italian team's Maranello base, and therefore this weekend will be considered the team's home event, and with the Scuderia leading both championships what better time for the tifosi to don their T-Shirts, wave their flags and blast their air horns for Charles and Carlos.

Though this is only the fourth race of the season, for the first time in many, many years Ferrari appear genuine championship contenders, while Leclerc has clearly stepped up a gear.

Though Carlos had a tough weekend in Melbourne, with a new two-year contract in his pocket he will be keen to get his season back on track, though one suspects that the Italian outfit will favour its Monegasque driver.

There's an old adage in motor sport that 'to finish first, first you have to finish', and no doubt that will be going through (2021 winner) Max Verstappen's mind all weekend. The world champion has suffered two DNFs from the opening three races, and will no doubt head to Imola with fingers and toes firmly crossed. While both retirements were entirely different - so we are told - both were linked to the Red Bull's fuel system.

No such issue for teammate Sergio Perez who finished a strong second in Melbourne and is now fourth in the standings. Indeed, this season the Mexican appears far more confident than last year, and with a points advantage, not to mention that pole position at Jeddah, Sergio will be giving Max something else to worry about.

Melbourne was a masterclass in damage limitation for Mercedes, with George Russell scoring a podium and Lewis Hamilton right behind in fourth. Despite the German team's issues, which mainly come down to porpoising, it is second in both championships.

Meanwhile, though Toto Wolff admits that the W13 is lacking the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull, he assures us that his team is working flat-out to catch up, and based on those eight successive titles few would doubt him.

The midfield battle should be as hard as ever, with Alpine, particularly Fernando Alonso, keen to make up for the disappointment of Melbourne, while McLaren will be equally keen to pick up where it left off.

Hass will be hoping for an altogether better weekend as it seeks to take on the two Alfas... Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri. Interestingly, as the American outfit shows signs of a revival there are already mumblings over its close relationship with Ferrari. Funny that when Ferrari went through its bad patch following the engine irregularities of 2019, and Haas (and Alfa Romeo) consequently went through a similarly bad period, little was said. Yet now, Mercedes, which had an almost incestuous relationship with tRacing Point then Aston Martin, leads the current chorus of disapproval.

Latest F1 odds from Betway see Leclerc at 2.10, Verstappen at 2.75, Sainz at 8.00, Hamilton and Perez at 13.00 and Russell at 21.00. Poor old Russell is next up at 67.00 ahead of Alonso on 81.00.

Ferrari is 1.66 to win, ahead of Red Bull 2.50 and Mercedes 10.00

Because of the nature of the Imola track, overtaking is difficult, indeed the short straights, high-speed corners and one DRS zone contributed to just 12 overtakes after the first lap in 2021 - all but one requiring DRS - so it is hoped the rules overhaul makes things easier. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that a one-stopper will be the common strategy.

The long run from the grid to Turn 2 at the start is the best chance to make up ground, consequently strategy - and safety cars - could well prove to be the deciding factor.

That said, the weather could also play a part with rain expected over the course of the three days.

Finally, Imola marks the first Sprint of the year, the rules for which have been slightly revised including more points on offer.

The tyre rules are the same as last year's Sprint events, so rather than having 13 sets of tyres for a conventional weekend, there will be just 12 sets. These consist of two sets of hards, four of mediums, and six sets softs.

The C2, C3 and C4 tyres are nominated for this weekend, the same nomination as last year, although the compounds are different with the latest generation of 18-inch tyres.

Qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon, with the Sprint on Saturday, the finishing order of which decides the grid for Sunday.

Check out our Thursday gallery from Imola, here.