MADRID, 21 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Formula 1 World Championship hopes to increase its excitement of this lively 2022 season with the arrival in Europe with the celebration of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, a ‘home’ event for a Ferrari that arrives as a clear dominator and that will also serve to see the first race in the renewed sprint format.
After three races in Asia and Australia, this start of the championship has confirmed some of what was glimpsed in the preseason, especially with the good work in Maranello so that the ‘Scuderia’ is competitive again. In fact, he has not only managed to get the ‘F1-75’ to be in front, but up to now he commands with authority thanks to Charles Leclerc.
The Monegasque driver has already won in Bahrain and Australia and has added a second place in Saudi Arabia to already add 71 points, an even more important amount because from behind no one has managed for one reason or another to respond to Ferrari’s performance and regularity.
Thus, Leclerc arrives at the first round of the ‘home’ calendar and which is also held at the circuit that bears the name of Enzo and Dino Ferrari with 34 points, more than a race ahead of the British George Russell, surprising second classified thanks to its greater regularity.
Lewis Hamilton’s new partner seems to be more comfortable than the seven-time world champion with a Mercedes far from its best version. Russell finished third to give some joy to the German team, which in addition to this podium, only has the one it achieved in Sakhir, another third, the one from Stevenage, already 43 points away from the head and who won on the Italian track in his return to the calendar in 2020.
And another factor that is ‘helping’ Leclerc are Red Bull’s failures and the misfortune of his teammate Carlos Sainz. The Austrian team seems to have the single-seater that is capable of taking the ‘Cavallino Rampante’ on a first-name basis and demonstrated it in the first three races, but it has not been reflected in the form of points.
The current world champion and winner last year in Imola, the Dutchman Max Verstappen, has rubbed shoulders with the Monegasque, but his ‘RB18’ played tricks on him both in Sakhir and in Melbourne, with two dropouts that already have him very behind, 46 points, despite taking the victory in Jeddah. Closer to him is his teammate Sergio Pérez, second in Australia, but at 41 points since he did not score in the premiere either.
The ‘Checo’ is just behind a Carlos Sainz who saw his positive start to the season tarnished with a weekend full of problems in Australia, but who will run with the extra of having already closed his renewal with the ‘Scuderia’ until 2024 .
The man from Madrid started with a second and a third place, but in Melbourne everything went wrong. First, with bad luck in qualifying due to a red flag caused by Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and then a problem with the starter that prevented him from making a good last attempt. On Sunday, an exit from the track in the first few laps caused him to fit a ‘0’ that he will want to quickly compensate for on a track where in 2021 he was fifth.
For its part, luck is not being kind to Alonso either, who has only been able to score two points in the Bahrain Grand Prix. The two-time world champion left in Saudi Arabia when he could have been sixth and in Australia he could only have been seventeenth, affected by the safety cars and by a Saturday where a mechanical problem prevented him from even “fighting for pole”. “Missing a podium hurts,” admitted the Asturian, tenth last year and winner at Imola in 2005.
This weekend will also bring the novelty of holding the first race in sprint format, which has been renewed by the organizers, especially in terms of points, with eight for the winner, which could be key at this time.
–SCHEDULES OF THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX.
-Friday.
13.30-14.30 Free 1.
17.00-18.00 Qualification.
-Saturday.
12.30-13.30 Free 2.
16.30-17.30 Sprint.
-Domingo.
15.00 Carrera.