What to watch for in the Emilia-Romagna GP

From an all-important run to Tamburello to Fernando Alonso at the sharp end again, and from home favourites facing tough afternoons to crucial pit stop timing, here are five things to keep your eye on when the lights go out on race day at Imola …

A crucial start

The opening seconds of any race are important but in Imola they are even more so when the race is dry because overtaking can be so difficult around this iconic circuit.

That means getting a good launch and either defending your position or making a move into Tamburello – the first braking zone – is crucial, and the front row features two drivers who have recently shown just how much the outcome at the first corner matters.

Oscar Piastri got down the inside of Max Verstappen at Turn 1 in Jeddah and Verstappen ran wide to stay ahead, earning himself a five-second time penalty that allowed Piastri to jump him at the pit stops. Both drivers accepted that whoever led out of that corner was likely to win – penalties aside – and it’s a similar situation in Imola.

On this occasion, the roles are reversed, with Piastri the driver on pole and Verstappen looking to find a way to attack. And Verstappen will certainly attack if he gets half a chance but the championship leader has already shown he is not afraid to get his own elbows out in battle.

And if Piastri and Verstappen do get aggressive against each other, that might give George Russell and Lando Norris behind their best chance of stealing a march at the front.

Alonso chasing his first points of 2025

It’s remarkable to think Fernando Alonso has yet to score a point in 2025. The Aston Martin driver has not had the quickest machinery by any stretch, but the team have executed very well at times, although usually it has been Lance Stroll who has been able to take advantage of that.

Stroll has 14 points to his name, all scored in races where Alonso hasn’t finished. In Australia, Alonso crashed out when in the points, then in China he retired early on with a brake issue. In the Miami Sprint, Stroll was ahead of Alonso but both were set to score when contact from Liam Lawson ended Alonso’s hopes.

Is that bad luck about to change, though? Aston Martin pulled off an excellent strategy throughout qualifying to get both cars into the top 10 on medium compound tyres and Alonso delivered with a brilliant fifth on the grid, ahead of Stroll in eighth.

Both are well-placed to score but Alonso in particular could be on for a big haul of points at a track where he’s had some memorable success in the past.

Ferrari and Antonelli fighting back

The first part of qualifying was a bizarre affair with the delays due to two heavy crashes and then the review of Oliver Bearman’s final lap time in Q1, and that continued into Q2 with a dramatic finish that will have been particularly painful for the Italian fans in Imola.

Firstly, Pierre Gasly completed a lap to bump Kimi Antonelli out and then the two Aston Martins came across the line, eliminating first Lewis Hamilton and finally Charles Leclerc. All three of the home heroes were gone in Q2 and will face particularly tough battles to try and get themselves in the points on Sunday.

The Ferrari race pace was particularly strong on Friday but Leclerc was concerned that the team would not be able to qualify far enough up the grid to make use of it – and those fears were confirmed in qualifying. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost …

If qualifying showed us anything, it's that the Imola circuit can really punish mistakes and drivers cannot afford to lose concentration at any stage. One error from a driver during the race could cause a race-altering interruption from a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car – or even red flag – and Ferrari and Antonelli will be hoping for anything to give them a chance of making progress.

Colapinto’s return race after qualifying crash

Franco Colapinto returned to competitive action for Alpine this weekend and showed a bit of rustiness in qualifying as he admitted a small mistake led to a big incident when he crashed at the end of Q1.

The Argentinian was showing encouraging pace and felt he had made a good step forward from Friday to Saturday but he will now start from 16th on the grid due to his accident (and a one-place grid penalty for entering the fast lane in the pit lane before a qualifying restart time was confirmed).

While he will want to move forward, the race will offer good experience for the Argentine either way, especially with two more race weekends set to immediately follow. So keeping it clean in the race will be one of the main targets, getting laps under his belt.

It’s a different situation for Yuki Tsunoda who will start from the back – or the pit lane – after his huge Q1 crash. Tsunoda has now been in the car for four races and is looking to consistently get closer to teammate Verstappen but he will need something special to get himself into the frame for points from there.

Pit stop timing

For all of the brilliance watching drivers take on the challenge of the Imola circuit throughout the race weekend so far, one aspect of this track layout is that it is particularly tough to overtake unless you have a significant pace advantage.

The long run to the first proper braking point at the Tamburello chicane is the main overtaking zone on the circuit and that will put a premium on the battle off the line, with drivers likely to get their elbows out in the knowledge that a place gained or lost in the opening few corners could well stick.

But the next opportunity comes around the pit stops, with the softest three tyre compounds available meaning there could be a noticeable drop-off in pace if you don’t get the timing right.

Stay out too long trying to find a gap to pit into and you could lose race time. But stop too early and emerge in traffic and the overtaking difficulties will also play a part again. It’s a significant pit lane loss that means teams need a big advantage over a car behind to pit and emerge ahead, but they will also want to make just the one stop if they can.

So even if drivers are struggling to make moves on track, the pit stop phases could prove to be a crucial time in the race.