Immersion in the heart of preparations for the Imola Grand Prix

The Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack is quiet on this Thursday morning of May 16th… just like the Santerno, the river that borders the track. The white bridge leading to the entrance of the circuit is empty or almost empty. Only the flags bearing the F1 logo remind us that a major event is in preparation. There is no need to search endlessly for a parking space… the ordinary life of a small town of 70,000 inhabitants goes on. The calm before the storm…

15:45 green lights to access Pite Lane…

In the paddock, the Motor-Homes are already set up, impressively tall, giving the impression that they have been positioned here since time immemorial. The drivers have all arrived, preparing to play the game of the press conference for 6 of them. This time we find Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen, and Lando Norris. At 2 pm, journalists and drivers gather in a small conference room, curtains drawn. Meanwhile, the circuit is being inspected, notably by the safety cars. The cameramen adjust their viewing angles, each at their positions, in their turns.

Gradually, more and more people are invading the paddock. The opening of the Pit Lane makes it possible to admire these jewels of technology that are the F1 cars. The teams are in pit stop training. The noise of the guns is loudly waking up eardrums. At Alpine in particular, the mechanics gather around giant screens in their boxes to watch their previous stops: everything is down to the millimeter, to the millisecond (see photo album).

… and to the track

The event organized by Vettel in tribute to Senna disrupts habits. Thus, 100 to 200 people from the paddock are gathered at 6pm, on the starting grid for a running tour of the circuit. An opportunity to get a closer look at the unique layout of Imola.

The Italian-colored rumble strips are imposing on their inner part, deeply grooved: they should create sparks, especially in the sequence of fast corners at the beginning of the track. The Imola circuit is hilly, certainly one of the tracks of the season with the greatest elevation change. The two main climbs: the one after the hairpin of Curva Tosa, and the ascent after Acque Minerali; make the 4.9 km layout intense… at least on foot.

At the end of the day, several members of the various teams engage in physical training. Some do an extra lap of the circuit by running, while others like Mercedes train collectively. The latter follow the program of their physical trainer, alternating between squats and Mountain Climbers.

Little by little, the single-seaters are being covered. The pits, always impeccably clean, are tidied up. The sun is slowly setting over Emilia-Romagna. The members of the different teams are going back to their Motor-Home for dinner. It’s 9 pm… the paddock is ready to welcome once again a Formula 1 weekend.