Despite Its Legendary Status, Sergio Perez Advocates Removal of Imola From Calendar Amidst Horrible Result

Despite Its Legendary Status, Sergio Perez Advocates Removal of Imola From Calendar Amidst Horrible Result

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez had a weekend to forget at the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP. After a poor Qualifying on Saturday, the #11 driver started the Grand Prix from 11th on the grid. Starting on the hard compound and going long didn’t help the Mexican’s race as he finished a disappointing eighth at the chequered flag. He finished a whopping 54 seconds behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, who went on to win the race.

Speaking of his lack of overtaking prowess during the race, Perez blamed the narrow turns of the Imola circuit for it. Rounding off his rant, he deemed the track unfit for Formula 1.

He was quoted on X (formerly Twitter) as saying, “This track [Imola] is not made for Formula 1, in terms of races. When we qualified P11, our weekend was over.”

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, also known as Imola, is a 3.050-mile-long permanent circuit with a very narrow strip of tarmac. This means that overtaking is not particularly easy, and Qualifying well is key to having a good race.

Perez’s criticism about the profile and characteristics of the circuit may have not been unwarranted. Throughout the race, overtaking action was indeed scarce. Rather, the pit-walls were busy mapping out a strategy that would allow their drivers to get the jump on their rivals in the pits.

Is Imola going to be removed from the Formula 1 calendar?

As things stand, the re-introduction of Imola since the 2020 season on the F1 calendar means that Italy has two races each year. But there are reports that this might change soon with Formula One Management going to make decisions about circuit contracts.

The current agreement with the legendary circuit, which has hosted 31 F1 Grands Prix to date, lasts until the 2025 season. There is a possibility that after next year, F1 will not renew their agreement with the circuit promoters.

This comes amidst many other circuits very keen to join the Formula 1 circus. One track that is the favorite to get its own re-run on the calendar is Kyalami.

There has indeed been a lot of chatter about the possibility of F1 again hosting the South African GP. The last time that F1 hosted a Grand Prix in Kyalami was during the 1993 season. With so many different circuits keen to join the calendar, it will be interesting to see what races does F1 add and remove in the years to come.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Red Bull Sergio Perez

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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