Red Bull aim to bounce back in Sprint weekend at Imola

Formula 1 returns to Imola for the third Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and round four of the 2022 world championship.

The sport returns to the home of Ferrari in 2022, with the Italian Tifosi set to cheer on the dominant squad one of two times this season before F1 heads to Monza in September.

However, it will be title rivals Red Bull who will be feeling the pressure after reigning champion Max Verstappen failed to finish in two of the three rounds so far this year.

After winning the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the Dutchman will be aiming for a repeat of last year’s race instead of his previous DNF at the 4.909km circuit in 2020.

The return of Sprint

Sprint, F1’s experimental qualifying format, makes its return after it set up three intriguing races at the British, Italian and Sao Paulo Grands Prix.

Sir Lewis Hamilton charged through the field after being disqualified after Friday Qualifying, eventually charging past Verstappen to win the race, the last time the system was deployed. 

The format allows for an interesting race if the frontrunners are forced into positions in the midfield or the back of the pack.

Who to look out for

After a strong start to the season, with five podiums in three races, Ferrari looks to be the favourite heading into the weekend.

Despite heading into Australia thinking that he would struggle, Charles Leclerc was able to snatch the win with relative ease.

He said:

“On paper, this was a track that we expected to be tough for us, so we have to review our data because we were in fact very strong.  

“It’s a great way to start the season, but we have to keep in mind that we are only three races into a very long championship. 

“We can’t afford to relax at any moment and have to stay on top of things, most of all on development.”

Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, will also be looking to bounce back from his first retirement of the season after an unlucky weekend down under.

So far, Leclerc has had the measure over the Spaniard and seems to be the title favourite.

The fight for fifth 

Although the title race is starting to heat up, the race in the midfield should certainly not be counted out. 

The fight for fifth between the mid-pack has been one of the most exciting this season.

Alpine currently sit fifth on 22 points, just two points behind McLaren in fourth, and only nine points ahead of Alfa Romeo in sixth.

Haas and AlphaTauri are in the hunt on 12 and 10 points. 

With such a close and unpredictable midfield, anything can happen heading into the race weekend.

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