Formula 1 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix results

In 2023, Norris is the more experienced driver in McLaren’s line-up as Piastri conducts his rookie campaign – having previously been partnered with Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo – which is a new experience for the Briton since he joined F1 in 2019.
Although McLaren has started the current season off the pace compared to its desired performance targets thanks to its MCL60 car being too ...

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Verstappen's meteoric rise in F1 took another trajectory when he won his first race with Red Bull in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix as an 18-year-old, but further success was harder to come by in an era dominated by Mercedes.
The 2017 rules reset kept Mercedes at the front, with Ferrari becoming the Brackley team's most regular challenger while Red Bull's Renault engine deal turned sour and a 2019 ...

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A champion in F2 and FE, de Vries joined AlphaTauri after excelling last year in a one-off drive for Williams at Monza, where he finished ninth while deputising for Alex Albon.
Despite being an F1 rookie, De Vries' vast experience as a Mercedes test driver and a winner in other forms of motorsport made him an enticing prospect for AlphaTauri to replace Alpine-bound Pierre Gasly.
But the ...

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Despite F1’s dramatic boost in popularity under owner Liberty Media, there has been some kick back from drivers, team bosses and media about certain aspects of grand prix weekends.
As well as some disapproval of the recent Miami pre-race entertainment show, F1’s switch to a sprint race format at several weekends has not been universally popular.
Most recently, double world champion Max ...

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But, ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix where it unleashes a major upgrade to its W14, the German manufacturer has revealed plans for big changes to its Brackley factory too. 
As part of what has been a £70 million commitment to upgrading its facilities since 2017, Mercedes has given the green light to the biggest overhaul yet of its campus. 
It plans to make it more ...

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The plans, which form part of a £70 million investment Mercedes is making on its infrastructure and staff, includes creating a pedestrianised setting, as well as the construction of new marketing buildings, leisure facilities and restaurants to help improve the team’s working environment. 
Alongside development work that has taken place at the main Brackley factory to boost ...

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But while we may have to wait a few more days to see some of those new parts in the flesh, the break does at least give us an opportunity to reflect on some of the interesting developments spotted so far this season.
Here is a selection of the best technical images from the first five races of the year, courtesy of Giorgio Piola and Sutton Images.

Alfa Romeo C43 technical ...

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Formula 1's inaugural visit to the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in 1980 began an unbroken 27-year run on the calendar for Italy's 'other' circuit, before it dropped off the schedule in 2006. But the onset of the COVID pandemic and an increased demand for European venues to meet F1's required quota of events for 2020 prompted a return, with Imola proving a popular addition to the calendar for ...

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McLaren parted ways with eight-time grand prix winner Daniel Ricciardo a year before his contract was due to expire to secure the services of Piastri, who won the Formula Renault Eurocup (2019), FIA F3 (2020) and F2 (2021) titles on his climb up the junior single-seater ladder.
While this season's McLaren MCL60 has been hamstrung by excessive drag and is sensitive to changing balance when ...

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His stint in charge has been beaten among current bosses only by Christian Horner, who started at Red Bull a year earlier, and while the Italian outfit hasn't matched the sister team in terms of results, that was never the intention.
Its focus has always been to train young drivers, and as such it helped to create two world champions for Red Bull in the form of Sebastian Vettel and Max ...

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Events in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region this week have rightly resulted in the cancellation of the Grand Prix at Imola. At the point the decision was taken, it was entirely feasible that the race could have taken place, but the importance of saving lives – and livelihoods – in the area was paramount.
Here’s our selection of some of the Formula 1 events of the past that have been badly ...

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Motorsport.com revealed ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix that Mercedes had hired former Red Bull COO and HR director Poole as a new special advisor.
Her role was to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the current infrastructure at Mercedes and offer advice on where improvements could be made.
As the German manufacturer continues its efforts to return to the front in F1 ...

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The Miami GP has raised the bar in terms of off-track action, and November's inaugural Las Vegas GP is expected to take things to another level.
Steiner says that in the modern era, fans need to see more than just the Grand Prix itself, especially in the USA, where expectations are higher for those attending major events.
"I think entertainment here got a lot better from the old days," said ...

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The death toll following the floods that hit north-eastern Italy on Tuesday and Wednesday, exacerbated by drought in the region since 2022, has now reached 13 people, while an estimated 20,000 have been left homeless.
A total of 23 rivers – including the Santerno that runs within metres of the Imola paddock – burst their banks following the heavy rain in the region at the start of this ...

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The Silverstone headquarters will be ready imminently, with some office operations moving by the end of this month. Meanwhile, the wind tunnel will influence car design from 2025.
Aston performance director Tom McCullough reckons the team will gain most significantly from the greater communication the new factory will allow, with the current multi-site set-up "disjointed" as colleagues from the ...

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Rather than chasing an out-and-out performance deficit between itself and Red Bull in all conditions, it has had to get on top of why it appears to be close to its rival in qualifying but is far adrift in the race.
There is no straightforward answer to it, as it is not a simple case, like Mercedes has, of realising its concept does not work at all and it needs to head off in another ...

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The track project was originally conceived in 2007 and by 2019 was ready to host a small MotoGP test ahead of a full motorcycle grand prix the following season as part of a five-year contract with promoter Dorna Sports.
But the first two attempts at running the event were lost to the COVID-19 pandemic and any plans to run the race behind closed doors was hurt by incomplete construction of the ...

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The team was open, ever since it first revealed its 2023 challenger, that the launch specification was not where it wanted to be, and that a new development path was needed.
The first fruits of that labour appeared at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as McLaren introduced a revised floor that, if you looked closely, had some very alternative treatments around the edges.
The fact that the McLaren ...

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McLaren published its annual sustainability report on Thursday, with the team boasting significant improvements.
These include a 22% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a 2019 baseline and a 19% reduction in total waste compared to 2019 with nothing sent to landfill.
F1 has made a significant sustainability push in recent years, with the sport publicly targeting to be net zero carbon ...

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The FIA, F1 and race organisers agreed to call off this weekend’s event due to the extreme weather conditions in the Italian region, which have left at least two people dead and many locals displaced.
This decision, made following discussions on Wednesday morning, was based on the safety concerns for the race and the extra strain it would place on the emergency services.
Essential ...

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The German manufacturer had originally intended to give the major revamp of its W14 a debut at this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
However, the extreme weather situation that prompted the calling off of the Imola event meant the opportunity for a first run on a more traditional track has now been lost.
Imola’s cancellation could have prompted a major rethink about Mercedes’ ...

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Unprecedented rainfall in Emilia-Romagna caused severe flooding in the region, including the area around the Imola circuit.
After crisis talks on Wednesday between F1, FIA and the local organisers and authorities, the decision was made to call off this weekend's event, so all focus could go to emergency relief for the local population.
Questions were soon raised over whether ticket holders ...

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The unease felt exactly the same. For the second time in just over three years, it was time to fly to a race that had disaster looming large around it.
But with this weekend's 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix cancelled, the outcome for Formula 1 is very different to that dark March week down under in Australia in 2020. Then the championship had rather dithered over what to do in the face of the ...

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Following concerns about the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari being flooded by the swollen Santerno river, authorities had barred anyone from F1 entering the circuit from Tuesday afternoon.
Rising water levels and widespread flooding triggered by extreme weather in the region subsequently prompted the cancellation of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix just days before track action was due ...

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On Wednesday it was confirmed that the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix would not go ahead due to the issues in the surrounding area, as well as at the Imola track itself.
Roads and bridges were closed due to the volume of water, while others were blocked by mudslides.
De Vries was unable to reach his hotel and was eventually given an alternative home room elsewhere by a member of the McLaren pit ...

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But as personnel embrace an unexpected free weekend, instead of what was going to be the start of a punishing triple-header, it is wrong to think teams can put their competitive thoughts on hold for another few days. 
The sudden change in schedule prompted by Imola not taking place triggers a fair few consequences and complications for everyone, which will likely prompt some discussions in ...

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After a strong start to the season, Aston currently lies second in the constructors’ world championship table despite being outpaced on occasion by rivals Ferrari and Mercedes.
Fallows says that it is natural that the Silverstone outfit eyes the currently-dominant Red Bull as a reference, and he admits that the AMR23 can be improved in all aspects.
"We do we need to sort of consider ...

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Sure, there have been rain impacted races, like Spa in 2021, and days lost to extreme events like the typhoon that hit Suzuka qualifying day in 2019, but the abandonment of an entire Grand Prix just days before it starts is quite unprecedented.
But just like the last non-Covid cancellation, of the 2011 season opener in Bahrain because of the political situation in the country, there are times ...

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The writing was on the wall for the first European round of the season after extreme rainfall caused severe floods throughout the Emilia Romagna region, including parts of the Imola circuit's paddock. Following crunch talks between F1, the FIA and the local authorities, the decision was taken on Wednesday to call off this weekend's event, so all focus could go to restoring infrastructure and ...

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F1 confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the Imola race would not take place following discussions with "the president of the FIA, the competent authorities including the relevant ministers, the president of the Automobile Club of Italy, the president of Emilia Romagna region, the mayor of the city and the promoter".
In a statement, F1 said: "The decision has been taken because it is not ...

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At least two people have died due to the weather conditions that have hit the area throughout May. Heavy rain caused more than a dozen rivers to burst their banks during a 24-hour period, while red weather warnings for flooding and landslides remain in place for this weekend.
This has led many locals to be displaced, while emergency flood relief fundraisers have been created.
F1 instructed ...

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For the second time in a few weeks, adverse weather has wreaked havoc on Emilia Romagna, with reports emerging from severe floods near the Imola circuit, the city of Bologna and other parts of the Italian region.
Ahead of crisis talks between F1, the FIA and the Italian authorities on whether the Imola race weekend will go ahead or not, F1 personnel have been told to stay away from the circuit ...

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The Italian outfit is looking to make gains to its SF-23 car to help address the issues it has faced in matching the pace of rival Red Bull in race conditions. 
While the car looks very competitive over a single lap in qualifying, its inconsistent performance and the lack of confidence that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have in it at times has left it lacking on Sundays. 
The ...

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On what should have been a critical set up day for teams ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the pits and paddock will instead be left empty as preparations are derailed by the unprecedented weather situation in Italy.
Multiple sources from teams have revealed that they have been requested by authorities not to travel to the Imola circuit while the ongoing situation is assessed.
Intense ...

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