THE EMILIA ROMAGNA GP IN 5 KEY MOMENTS
F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4
1 Jury’s out on upgrades as Red Bull tames Ferrari on home ground
It would be easy to say Red Bull’s commanding 1-2 finish in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, following Max Verstappen’s victory in Saturday’s sprint event, vindicated the team’s decision to introduce an upgrade on the RB18. But it’s too early to be so definitive. Really this was a story of fine setup margins, changing conditions, and blunders by both Ferrari’s drivers.
This being a sprint weekend, the track sessions were arranged disadvantageously for any teams planning to evaluate upgrades, with just one practice period before qualifying on Friday. Wet weather then rendered Friday’s practice running largely irrelevant so Red Bull’s decision to stick with its new floor and cooling package (saving 4kg) was, as Helmut Marko acknowledged, a “risk”.
The first dry running came in qualifying, resulting in a messy session as drivers scrambled to bank fast laps before more rain arrived. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was one of several drivers to provoke red flags, “surprised” as his car snapped when he took too much kerb at Rivazza during Q2. Max claimed pole ahead of Charles Leclerc in a wet Q3, but not through car performance – he just drove a cleaner lap, while two more red flags (of five in
