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.”
| Sergio Pérez post-race:
“This track is not made for Formula 1, in terms of races.
“When we qualified P11, our weekend was over.”
[@DAZN_ES]
— formularacers (@formularacers_) May 19, 2024
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.
Kyalami 2026 ️️ https://t.co/i3aV0vdmQh
— Muad’dhura. (@FatherOfMothers) April 12, 2024
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.
