24/04/2022
NEWS STORY
So, there we were ruminating over what lessons had been learned from the Sprint and how they might impact today's race, particularly in terms of tyre deg, when suddenly the heavens opened.
While rain was anticipated, few expected it to arrive so early or with such intensity.
On Friday, Ferrari performed on both the full wets and Inters, and consequently the Italian team must feel confident going forward, particularly in light of yesterday's Sprint and how it lost out due to the tyre deg that resulted from Charles Leclerc pushing too hard.
No doubt, overnight, a number of drivers were performing rain dances, not least the McLaren pair and Fernando Alonso, while the Haas boys will be equally happy to have raindrops falling on their heads.
Last year, of course, the race got underway in the wet, with Leclerc spinning off on the formation lap... but thankfully able to continue.
It was Tamburello, shortly after, that the first of the season's numerous clashes involving Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen occurred, and few would bet against a repeat today, though with Leclerc involved this time around.
Sainz went off twice on the opening lap - the second time giving Stroll a nudge then Latifi, the Williams driver subsequently going off and into the wall at Acque Minerale, courtesy of a helping hand from Mazepin, thereby bringing out the safety car.
No slouch in the wet, Fernando Alonso is predicting chaos.
"In the chaos, you can be lucky or unlucky," says the Spaniard. "In the position we are in, maybe we are one of the lucky ones."
Indeed, going back to Friday there were numerous incidents prompting numerous stoppages and by the end of the day almost everyone had experienced an off of one sort or another.
With little wet running so fa this year, combined with the new cars and tyres, the drivers are still learning.
If nothing else, the drivers parade offers the teams the opportunity to flog umbrellas to the fans, each of the drivers sporting a large golf umbrella adorned with his teams' logos... yours for only 49.99.
Shortly after, around an hour before the start, the rain stops and the sun emerges. However, the track remains damp.
As if to prove the point, as the pitlane opens most drivers head out on full wets, though a few are on Inters.
It is a chilly 11 degrees C, while the track temperature is 18 degrees.
"Not any dry patches, but a few just grease," reports Russell. Teammate Hamilton complains of a "power drop", but the team subsequently says the issue has been resolved.
Of course, tyre strategy is up in the air, other than that all-important drivers make the switch to slicks... though there is talk of further rain.
In the meantime, does one start on full wets or Inters?
Christian Horner is confident it will dry quickly, but warns of another band of rain on the way.
The drivers gather for a stirring rendition of one of the best anthems on the calendar... even if the crowd is behind the beat.
This is followed by a fly-past... which we thought were banned.
Ahead of the formation lap, race control warns that there is a 60% chance of further rain.
All are starting on Inters as they head off on the formation lap, all except Zhou who starts from the pitlane. The tyre warmers are kept in place until the last possible second.
"It could be a race of attrition," Latifi is told... to which we offer no comment.
As the field heads round on the formation lap, the drivers are greeted with clouds of red smoke by the partisan crowd.
The grid forms.
They're away! Great starts from both Bulls, however the Ferrari pair are both slow off the line.
As they emerge from the spray, that poor start is followed by even more misery for the Tifosi as Norris goes through on the inside of Leclerc at Tamburello and Sainz spins and collects Ricciardo in the process. As was the case in Melbourne the Spaniard is beached in the gravel. For the second race running, Sainz is out on the first lap.
Great start from Russel, the Mercedes passing Schumacher who has a poor getaway. Magnussen benefits from the Sainz/Ricciardo incident which compromises Bottas, while teammate Schumacher spin at Tamburello, his rear tyre clouting Alonso's sidepod in the process.
The safety car is deployed.
Verstappen leads Perez, Norris, Leclerc, Magnussen, Russell, Bottas, Alonso, Vettel and Tsunoda.
The stewards have noted the incident which suggests Ricciardo was pushed by Bottas, into Sainz. They subsequently opt not to investigate.
Ricciardo pits at the end of lap 2 rejoining in 19th.
"Track is drying up quickly," claims Leclerc.
The safety car is withdrawn at the end of lap 4.
Vettel is told that rain is expected in twenty minutes... "or maybe sooner".
They're away again, Leclerc all over the rear of Norris' McLaren. Vettel passes Alonso for 8th as Tsunoda also passes the Alpine driver.
With Perez riding shotgun, Verstappen posts a 31.450 as he builds a 1.6s lead.
Alonso is struggling and next to pass is Hamilton. At which point the TV camera reveals massive sidepod damage on the right-hand side of Alonso's car.
At the end of lap 6, Alonso pits. "How bad is the damage," he asks. "Bad, quite bad," he is told. His day's work is clearly done.
Verstappen continues to post fastest laps (30.119), as Leclerc nails Norris at Tamburello. Next up is Perez who is 3s up the road.
A dry line is emerging, but with that rain approaching who is willing to take the gamble.
Russell closes on Magnussen as they battle for 5th, but the Dane slams the door.
Next time around the Mercedes driver tries again, but in these conditions the advantage is with the Haas driver.
"Rain in the next ten laps," Latifi is told.
Finally, on lap 12, at the third attempt Russell makes it stick... only to run out of road and miss the chicane, thereby losing the place back to Magnussen.
However, at the Variante Alta Russell won't take no for an answer and is through, with Bottas almost catching Magnussen out in the process.
"Light class zero to one rain expected in the next ten minutes," Norris is told.
Bottas makes a bold move on Magnussen on the run to Rivazza, to claim 6th, as Hamilton closes on Stroll.
Leclerc has his time deleted for exceeding the track limits at Turn 9.
After 15 laps, Leclerc is just 1.2s down on Perez, who is 6.3s adrift of leader Verstappen.
As Hamilton shadows Stroll, the Canadian closes on Tsunoda.
Ricciardo pits at the end of lap 16, the Australian switching to mediums.
All eyes on Ricciardo, as Ocon joins the Tsunoda train.
"Still too early," replies Hamilton when asked about the possibility of a switch to slicks.
At the end of lap 17, Vettel, Gasly and Albon all pit as Ricciardo sets an impressive pace.
Next time around Perez pits, the Mexican switching to mediums. Russell and Bottas also stop, as does Magnussen... indeed a whole host of drivers.
A disastrous stop for Bottas, while Ocon and Hamilton appear to clash in the pitlane, following an unsafe release for the Alpine driver.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Imola, here.
At the end of lap 19 Verstappen, Leclerc and Norris all pit, the Dutchman rejoins still leading, ahead of Leclerc and Perez. However, as he struggles to get his tyres up to speed the Ferrari driver is passed by the Mexican.
After that little bit of mayhem, Verstappen leads Perez, Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Bottas, Vettel, Magnussen, Tsunoda and Stroll.
In his pursuit of Perez, Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (24.435), as Verstappen maintains a 7.7s lead.
Eleventh-placed Ocon is given a 5s time penalty for an unsafe release.
On lap 23, Leclerc closes in on Perez at Tamburello but is unwilling to take the gamble.
Lap 23 sees a new fastest lap from Perez (22.583).
Schumacher spins at the Variante Alta but is able to continue.
Stroll is all over Tsunoda, the AlphaTauri the ultimate in mobile chicanes at this point. Ocon and Albon await the outcome.
Another fastest lap from Perez (21.337) as he builds a 1.5s cushion.
As Tsunoda and Stroll continue their battle, Gasly, Hamilton and Ricciardo join the train.
A mistake at Variante Alta by Perez, which sees the Mexican take a bumpy ride over the grass, gives the advantage to Leclerc, but as the crowd rises in anticipation the Monegasque is unable to make a move that sticks.
Schumacher is given the black and white flag for exceeding the track limits... final warning for the Haas driver.
On lap 31, Ricciardo makes his third stop of the day, the McLaren driver switching from the mediums to hards.
Out front, another fastest lap for Verstappen (20.587).
Twelve month on from that battle with Verstappen, Hamilton now finds himself battling Gasly for 13th.
On lap 35...DRS is finally enabled... not a moment too soon for the likes of Leclerc.
As Hamilton continues to harry Gasly, just a little way behind is Verstappen... one world champion is about to lap another.
Taking of which, Norris laps his McLaren teammate.
"We have a blue flag for Verstappen," Hamilton is warned.
Verstappen passes Hamilton and then Gasly, the Frenchman losing pace in the process and allowing the Mercedes to close in. However, the W13 simply doesn't have the pace of the AlphaTauri.
"Plan D, how does it look?" asks Leclerc. "Not good, stay out till the end," he is told.
Having dropped Stroll, Tsunoda is now looking comfortable in ninth. Indeed, within DRS range of Magnussen, eighth is possibly on the cards.
Again and again Hamilton closes on Gasly at Tamburello, and on lap 46 almost does it, as the Frenchman attempts a similar move on Albon.
Tsunoda makes short work of Magnussen, passing the Dane at Tamburello on lap 48. "Good job," he is told.
Next up for the Japanese is Vettel who is 2.5s up the road.
Ricciardo hasn't benefitted from that switch to hards, the Australian still running last (18th), 23s down on Schumacher.
Leclerc pits at the end of lap 49, the Ferrari driver switching to the soft tyre. He rejoins in fourth, 0.6s down on Norris and 30s down on Perez.
Red Bull responds by pitting Perez next time around. Likewise, the Mexican switches to the red-banded rubber.
He rejoins in second, 1.9s ahead of Leclerc who has passed Norris.
As expected, at the end of lap 51, Verstappen pits. The Dutchman rejoins still in the lead, 15s ahead of his teammate.
"I think we should have gone for mediums," says Leclerc, as he closes to within 0.8s of Perez.
As he hunts his rival, Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (18.849).
Oh no! On lap 54 Leclerc spins at the Variante Alta and brushes the barrier. He heads back to the pits for a new front wing.
As Tsunoda passes Vettel for 6th, Leclerc rejoins in 9th, 1.5s behind Magnussen.
Leclerc passes Magnussen and sets off after Vettel, with just 7 laps remaining.
Meanwhile, Bottas is all over Russell.
And still, Hamilton shadows Gasly.
Assuming there are no reliability issues, this will be a famous win for Red Bull and a disaster for Ferrari.
"There might be a few drops of rain at Turn 7," (Tosa) Perez is warned.
On lap 59, Leclerc passes Vettel for seventh.
On lap 61, Leclerc passes Tsunoda for 6th, and that's about as good as it will get, what with Bottas 16s up the road.
Verstappen begins his final lap.
The world champion takes the flag, and along with the victory claims the point for fastest lap.
Behind Verstappen, it's Perez, Norris, Russell, Bottas, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll.
Albon is eleventh, ahead of Gasly, Hamilton, Ocon (with that time penalty), Zhou, Latifi, Schumacher and Ricciardo.
"An amazing race, an amazing weekend to be honest," beams Norris. "The team deserve it, from where we were in race one to a podium, it's amazing. I like these conditions, same as last year!"
"It was really intense, the fight" admits Perez. "I think the most important thing was not making mistakes, in these conditions, it was so tricky.
"We have been so unlucky," he adds, "it's been a difficult start for us but we deserved this."
"Already yesterday, and the day before, we were on it and it was looking like a strong weekend," says Verstappen. "As a team we did everything well, and this 1-2 is well deserved.
"The start was important but also judging conditions, when to swap to the slicks. Everything was well managed."
Not the thrill-fest we were hoping for but the Rolex Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell etc. etc. certainly had its moments.
A nice, calm performance from Verstappen, while Perez continues to improve and prove that Red Bull made the right choice.
Meanwhile, just as we're lauding Leclerc for his world champion potential he makes a needless mistake like this.
While some, especially the media, will pile-on Sainz, it was a racing incident, the Spaniard the victim of a sequence of events that began with Bottas.
Well-deserved points for Russell, Bottas, Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll, while Gasly did well to soak up the pressure from Hamilton.
Whatever one might make of the 'exchange' between Toto Wolff and the seven-time champ on Friday, now is not the time for blame, now is the time for pulling together.
Still, at least Hamilton's struggles gave Nico Rosberg something to smile about.
It's a pity that Alonso suffered that first lap damage for if anyone could have given this race some spice it is the Spaniard.
As the various 'post mortems' gets underway, we will be told that this is 'only' race four, and indeed it is. However, one cannot help but feel that for some the die is already cast, while the likes of Leclerc will be looking for retribution... and where better than the street of Miami where Tony Montana once ruled.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Imola, here.