F1 LIVE: Emilia Romagna Grand Prix latest updates at wet Imola as Verstappen leads and Sainz hit by Ricciardo
Ricciardo #Ricciardo
Formula One’s first European race of the season takes place on Sunday afternoon, as the teams and drivers face the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
Last year Verstappen beat Hamilton after overtaking him on the very first corner, with Norris claiming the other podium spot – and despite the Belgian-Dutch racer starting in top spot this time around, his teammate Sergio Perez is looking to claim victory himself.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Lap 20/63 14:36 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Tick, tick, tick – that’s the set completed as Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris come in to switch to the slicks.
Leclerc out ahead of Perez…but not for long! The Mexican retakes second place with his tyres warmed up, and that’s worked out okay for Red Bull.
Lap 19/63 14:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Further up the race, in are Sergio Perez, George Russell, and just about everyone except the three leading cars in the race.
Drama! Esteban Ocon and Lewis Hamilton collide in the pit lane! Thankfully they avoid a serious incident and Ocon is emerging ahead. More trouble for Mercedes
Lap 18/63 14:33 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Lewis Hamilton still thinks it is too early for a change, but fellow former world champion Sebastian Vettel disagrees – he’s in for a tyre change, along with Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.
Lap 17/63 14:32 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Ooh – Daniel Ricciardo is in the pits and those look like slick tyres being plugged on to his car. He’s last, but this will be an interesting experiment for McLaren. He’s ahead of race leader Max Verstappen as he exits the pit lane.
Lap 16/63 14:30 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Still no DRS in operation. Obviously Niels Wittich, race director, is being cautious after what happened last year, but there’s a real chance it gets turned on just before it starts hooning it down again. No in-race precipation yet.
Lap 15/63 14:28 , Harry Latham-Coyle
That was some excellent competitive-but-fair racing from Magnussen and Russell, leaving each other room to make ambitious but safe moves.
All fine and well at the front for Red Bull at the moment, but Max Verstappen’s intermediate tyres are beginning to lose grip, and Charles Leclerc is tracking Sergio Perez down, following his footprints about a second and a half back.
Lap 14/63 14:26 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Now Bottas does take sixth place. A delightful move from the Alfa Romeo as Sebastian Vettel runs off track briefly behind him.
The top ten as things stand: Verstappen, Perez, Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Bottas, Magnussen, Vettel, Tsunoda, Stroll.
Lap 13/63 14:25 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Russell doesn’t have to wait long to take fifth more concretely – a lovely little shimmy to the inside and the place is his. Bottas very nearly pilfers a place, too, but Magnussen clings on.
Lap 12/63 14:24 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Finally Russell gets beyond Kevin Magnussen but an immediate error and the Haas steals fifth back! Russell gets his move right but then runs out of position, and the Dane is alert to the possibility.
Valtteri Bottas is in the mix now, too.
Lap 11/63 14:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle
This time for Russell….no! Great defending from Kevin Magnussen, opening the outside but knowing he’s got just enough to keep fifth on the track. Russell is getting mighty close but struggling to make the passing move.
Lap 10/63 14:21 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Now Russell launches an ambitious move on Kevin Magnussen ahead of him, but his Mercedes hops about like an excited frog as he accelerates towards the Haas in fifth. Nothing doing.
Lap 9/63 14:20 , Harry Latham-Coyle
News comes through that George Russell isn’t happy with the degrading of his tyres. Valtteri Bottas (seventh) is getting closer to the Mercedes.
Still no DRS enabled with that damp track.
Lap 8/63 14:19 , Harry Latham-Coyle
What a move from Charles Leclerc! The crowd roars as Leclerc blows beyond Lando Norris, a bold move to the inside into the chicane with the Ferrari emphatically beyond the McLaren in a flash.
On to the Red Bulls, who are leading this race in relative comfort and seem to be negotiating the damper parts of the circuit quite well.
Fernando Alonso appeared to take contact from Mick Schumacher. Alpine are desperately trying to repair a rather large blemish in the side of the car, perhaps reckoning there may be more incident later which may allow them to fight back and steal a point or two.
Lap 7/63 14:16 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“How bad is the damage?” asks Fernando Alonso – “quite bad” is the reply. He’s in the pits and I reckon that might just be that for the veteran’s afternoon in Imola.
Lap 6/63 14:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The visibility isn’t great for Charles Leclerc as he again looks to produce an overtake of Lando Norris. The latest reports are that the next band of rain may be about 15 minutes away – these could be really crucial laps while the going is dryish.
Fernando Alonso is plummeting through the field. Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll are also now ahead of the Alpine, and there’s a bit of damage on Alonso’s car.
Lap 5/63 14:13 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The green flag waves and off they go again down the home straight. Charles Leclerc sniffing Lando Norris’ rear wing…not quite.
Sebastian Vettel passes Fernando Alonso for P8, and then Yuki Tsunoda gets by the Spaniard, too!
Carlos Sainz is OUT of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 14:12 , Harry Latham-Coyle
So much hope for Ferrari, and any hopes of a home one-two dashed in the opening corners. Gloves swinging in his hands, Carlos Sainz shakes his head as he exits trackside.
The safety car is coming in at the end of this, the fourth, lap.
Lap 4/63 14:10 , Harry Latham-Coyle
So for the restart, the top ten will be: Verstappen, Perez, Norris, Leclerc, Magnussen, Russell, Bottas, Alonso, Vettel, Tsunoda.
Charles Leclerc will fancy a quick pass of Lando Norris to get at the Red Bulls. A great result for Christian Horner and co.
Lap 3/63 14:08 , Harry Latham-Coyle
No further investigation required. The stewards are happy to let it stand.
Remarkably, in all of that chaos George Russell managed to smuggle his way up to sixth. A great start for the lead Mercedes…
Daniel Ricciardo pits with the safety car still out.
Lap 2/63 14:07 , Harry Latham-Coyle
That really could not have been worse for the home horses. Charles Leclerc struggled to get off the line and Sergio Perez was on him in a flash, while Sainz went the long way into the opening corner, bashing against a more direct Ricciardo. Disappointing for Sainz, but I don’t think there’s too much fault in the actions of Ricciardo. It is probably Sainz’s corner, but the pair were side-by-side. We’ll see what the stewards say.
Valtteri Bottas also took a little contact in that incident.
Lap 1/63 14:04 , Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s a nightmare start for Ferrari – Charles Leclerc has already lost out on a couple of places, passed by both Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.
Sainz might be out here! It’s over for the Spaniard, who sits disconsolate in his car facing the wrong way in the gravel – and out comes the safety car.
Lap 1/63 14:04 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A crash in the opening corners! Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo collide and it appears Sainz is struggling to get back on track!
LIGHTS OUT! 14:03 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is underway!
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 14:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Great plumes of red smoke and plenty of Ferrari flags – the tifosi are enjoying this. Here. We. Go!
Formation lap 14:01 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Off the cars go, over the line for the first time as they ready themselves for the race. The standing water on the track has cleared significantly, but there are still a few patches of concern – Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri forecasters expect more rain in about 20 or 25 minutes.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 13:58 , Harry Latham-Coyle
For the first time since 2006, a Grand Prix at Imola and fans are out en masse to roar the drivers on. 63 laps of a rare anti-clockwise circuit will see the drivers cover just over 300 kilometres. Max Verstappen won 12 months ago and begins on pole, but early world title front-runner Charles Leclerc will be ready to capitalise if the Dutchman has another slow start.
Starting Grid 13:56 , Harry Latham-Coyle
One final look at the starting grid…
1) Max Verstappen
2) Charles Leclerc
3) Sergio Perez
4) Carlos Sainz
5) Lando Norris
6) Daniel Ricciardo
7) Valtteri Bottas
8) Kevin Magnussen
9) Fernando Alonso
10) Mick Schumacher
11) George Russell
12) Yuki Tsunoda
13) Sebastian Vettel
14) Lewis Hamilton
15) Lance Stroll
16) Estenban Ocon
17) Pierre Gasly
18) Alex Albon
19) Nicholas Latifi
20) Zhou Ganyu
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 13:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A home triumph for Ferrari? A clawing back of points for Max Verstappen? A surprise McLaren surge? A drying track, the threat of more rain, and a tough track to test the grid – this could be frantic and a lot of fun, and race start in Imola is about five minutes away…
Toto Wolff to Sky Sports 13:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“We are just lacking in many areas – one is with grip the colder it gets. In theory we are not that competitive, but it is a motor race and that can change.
“We still believe the physics can make the car work. That is why we are not giving up. We are four races into the championship and on paper we are not fighting for the win, but that does not mean in four races we will not be fighting for it.”
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 13:48 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“What happens with the weather is for everyone,” our pole-sitter Max Verstappen sagely remarks. Indeed, Max, indeed.
Lando Norris says… 13:47 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“Excited. ALready a few memories of last year coming my way, similar conditions-ish. We’ll see. A few opportunities could come our way, we just need to be there to take them.
“You’ve got to take risks in these conditions. It is risk management, taking them when you need to, it is a long race. As long as we are in the fight at the end, that’s what counts.”
The drivers assemble on the red carpet 13:45 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The usual pre-race massing of the drivers for the national anthem, and it’s a doozy: “Il Canto degli Italiani”, backed by a brass band and barked by the local fans, Ferrari flags waved left and right.
Christian Horner’s pre-race thoughts 13:42 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Christian Horner is the next to have a red and blue Sky microphone thrust towards his chin: “On a day like today there is an awful lot of risk. There is probably another band of rain coming. It’s about not making mistakes and trying to stay ahead of the Ferrari.”
On Max Verstappen’s slow start yesterday: “He picked up a bit of wheel spin. Hopefully he’ll have a better start today. We need one…”
Plenty of colour 13:40 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Fair play to the fans – it looked properly nasty at Imola earlier, but they’ve stuck around and the sun is poking through the clouds. There are a few ominous dark patches on the radar but the Ferrari fans are out in force and this could be plenty of fun.
Problems for Lewis Hamilton? 13:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle
More problems for Lewis Hamilton. He’s had some issues during his laps to the grid, but Mercedes are confident they will be sorted in the next 25 minutes or so.
“It was drier than I was expecting, actually,” George Russell tells Sky Sports’ roaming reporters. “During the course of this race it will probably transition. It’s going to be really difficult – we are in P11 and we have got to really go for it.”
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – half an hour until lights out 13:32 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The cars are coming back on to the grid, team personnel guiding Lando Norris’ orange McLaren through the chaos to P5. Can those two McLarens launch a significant challenge to the front four? As thrilling as Ferrari and Red Bull’s duels have been, a third team muscling in to a front-of-the-race fight more consistently would be a lot of fun, particularly at such a challenging circuit in inclement conditions.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 13:29 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“I think we will see some spectacular driving from him today,” tips Nico Rosberg of former teammate Lewis Hamilton on Sky Sports.
Lewis Hamilton slides off track 13:24 , Harry Latham-Coyle
An early moment of bother for Lewis Hamilton as he gets some energy into his car and the tyres – he runs wide and off track, but manages to avoid anything more serious. He’s normally so strong when the rain comes down, but this Mercedes W13 has been struggling so badly. What will Hamilton and George Russell be able to produce?
The pit lane is open 13:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle
We have cars on the track in Imola – the pit lane is open. Most have started on the full wet tyres, quite understandably, with a significant amount of spray flying from the back of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Max Verstappen is one of those not yet out – here he comes…full wets for the world champion.
Fernando Alonso foresees chaos in the rain 13:18 , Harry Latham-Coyle
There were a couple of rumblings about ten minutes ago that the rain may just be clearing up in Emilia Romagna, and the umbrellas are down on the gri, but the track remains damp – which will add an air of unpredictability to what could be a little cracker of a race.
“There are some forecasts that say it may rain tomorrow,” Fernando Alonso said yesterday after a disappointing sprint race performance.
“If that happens, obviously chaos is guaranteed, and in the chaos, you can be lucky or unlucky.
“In the position we are in, maybe we are one of the lucky ones.”
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Starting Grid 13:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Right – we are about an hour away from lights out at Imola, which feels like an appropriate time to remind ourselves of the starting grid. Guanyu Zhou will start from the pit lane after Alfa Romeo performed some unsupervised work yesterday:
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
3. Sergio Perez – Red Bull
4. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
5. Lando Norris – McLaren
6. Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
7. Valterri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
8. Kevin Magnussen – Haas
9. Fernando Alonso – Alpine
10. Mick Schumacher – Hass
11. George Russell – Mercedes
12. Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
13. Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
14. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
15. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
16. Esteban Ocon – Alpine
17. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri
18. Alex Albon – Williams
19. Nicholas Latifi – Williams
20. Guanyu Zhou – Alfa Romeo
Lewis Hamilton dismisses rumours as ‘a bunch of nonsense’ 12:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Pretty emphatic from Lewis Hamilton, responding to rumours that he may be considering an exit from Mercedes: “There is nowhere else I want to be, just because we have hit a rough patch, it is not in my DNA to back out.
“We can fix this. It is going to be a painful year that we are going to have to ride out together.
“We just have to work hard to make sure we are not in this position next year.”
Smoke on the water 12:44 , Harry Latham-Coyle Remembering Ayrton Senna 12:39 , Harry Latham-Coyle Remembering Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberg 12:37 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Any visit to Imola has a certain poignancy – it’s now 28 years since two Formula 1 drivers lost their lives in a single San Marino Grand Prix weekend at this track, including the great Ayrton Senna.
26 years on from Senna’s death and a weekend seared into F1’s soul
Staying dry 12:27 , Harry Latham-Coyle The weather 12:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Hamilton has now swapped the shirt for a branded jacket and umbrella. It’s not looking nice at the track, and it’s likely to keep coming down right through the race, which will make things a little slippery.
A better day for Lewis Hamilton? 12:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Lewis Hamilton has had to dismiss rumours of retirement already this weekend, with television pictures showing an apparent disagreement between the seven-time world champion and Toto Wolff fuelling speculation that all may not be well at Mercedes. It’s certainly not been a great start to the season for the 37-year-old – can he go better today? He’ll start 14th, and he’s already going raising the sartorial stakes with this rather fancy button-down. Like Innocenzo’s easel.
It was a solid Saturday for McLaren, with P5 and P6 for Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo despite significant disruption during Free Practice 2. Ricciardo thinks they might be even better today.
“It’s definitely like the ‘on paper’ result is really good,” Ricciardo reflected on yesterday’s performance. “[Yesterday morning was] all about race prep and we obviously didn’t get it.
“I’ve done over 200 races so it’s not like I’m not prepared to race but knowing what tyre to start on, where to set things like the front wing and the switches in the car and all these little things, this is certainly valuable, especially in a Sprint race, where you don’t have a pit stop or anything. These are things that obviously compromise you.
“If we did the race again now, I would definitely change some things but with all that being said, you see ahead of us it’s Red Bull and Ferrari, so actually the result was good. I just think we will be a faster car [today].”
Familiar surroundings 11:50 , Harry Latham-Coyle Max Verstappen still no fan of sprint races despite Imola win 11:38 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A fine victory for Max Verstappen yesterday, fighting back after a rough start to proceedings to pass Charles Leclerc and strike the first significant blow of the weekend at Ferrari’s home circuit. But if it was up to the reigning world champion, he wouldn’t have got the chance – despite the win, Verstappen still isn’t keen on sprint race weekends.
“I’m still not a fan of sprint races because in the end it doesn’t change anything,” Verstappen explained yesterday.
“It doesn’t matter if you have such a good fight during the sprint race or during the actual race. I just like the way the whole weekend goes much better with a normal weekend schedule.”
Plenty more points and prizes to be won today, but here’s how things are looking after yesterday’s totting up. Not particularly pretty for Mercedes.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – the rain is falling… 11:22 , Harry Latham-Coyle
It’s been a weekend of wild weather in northern Italy, and the wet stuff is coming down again a few hours before the lights go out. It looks likely to be a damp one.
F1 grid today: Starting positions for Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 10:51 , Karl Matchett
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix starting grid
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
3. Sergio Perez – Red Bull
4. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
5. Lando Norris – McLaren
6. Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
7. Valterri Bottas – Alfa Romeo
8. Kevin Magnussen – Haas
9. Fernando Alonso – Alpine
10. Mick Schumacher – Hass
11. George Russell – Mercedes
12. Yuki Tsunoda – AlphaTauri
13. Sebastian Vettel – Aston Martin
14. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
15. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
16. Esteban Ocon – Alpine
17. Pierre Gasly – AlphaTauri
18. Alex Albon – Williams
19. Nicholas Latifi – Williams
20. Guanyu Zhou – Alfa Romeo
Lewis Hamilton said he had no hope of winning a record eighth Formula One title this season after he finished 14th in Saturday’s sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion crossed the line an eye-watering 41.4 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen after just 21 laps of racing in Imola.
World champion Verstappen passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the penultimate lap to take the chequered flag and secure pole position for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
But Hamilton endured another woeful afternoon in his desperately uncompetitive Mercedes machine.
The British driver started 13th before dropping two places on the opening lap.
Hamilton regained one spot when he passed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll but, after failing to score, he is already 50 points behind Leclerc in the championship standings – the equivalent of two victories.
And, with Saturday’s result deciding the grid for Sunday’s main event, Hamilton faces losing even further ground in the title race.
“We are obviously not fighting for the championship,” said the 37-year-old.
“We are fighting to understand the car, improve and progress through the year. That’s all we can hope for now.
“Ultimately we haven’t got it right, but everyone’s working as hard as they can to reverse it.”
More from the Mercedes camp as Toto Wolff explains heated conversation with Hamilton:
Lewis Hamilton writes off F1 world title chances after woeful sprint race showing