F1 resumes this week, with the grid starting the European portion of the schedule with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. This will be an emotional week for the sport as the grid returns to Imola for the first time since 2022 after last year’s race was canceled due to devastating flooding in the area. In addition, this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix marks 30 years since the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, which saw the tragic deaths of rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger and the legendary Ayrton Senna.
At the circuit, a number of teams have introduced upgrades to Imola in hopes of improving performance. Sauber are one of the teams looking to “reset” after the Miami Grand Prix. The Miami Grand Prix and F1 Sprint Race were tough for the Miami team as both Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Chou finished last.
“We head to Imola for the first race of the European leg with the aim of resetting after a tough weekend in Miami. We will regroup the team, analyze what went wrong last time and We had two weeks to make sure we dealt with it,” team principal Alessandro Arunni Bravi said at Sauber’s media preview.
He pointed out that Sauber is also one of the teams bringing upgrades to Imola.
“We haven’t added any points yet this season, but we know we have the performance to achieve it and we’ve been in the top spots in most races. We’re confident in our means. , the upgrades we are introducing this week are proof of the tireless efforts of the Hinvil home team,” added Alunni Brabi. “We have seen through recent events how tight the field is and that breaking through the Q2 or Q3 threshold is often a matter of hundredths of a second. Our goal is , now more than ever, be prepared to seize every opportunity that arises and make the most of it to progress.”
Bottas referenced Imola’s rich history and outlined how the team hopes to turn the “lessons” from Miami into “improvements”.
“I’m really happy to be back at Imola, it’s an old-school circuit with so much history and so much fun to drive. [honor] We hope to be able to race at such a historic venue, supported by the Italian fans in the grandstands, and that our return to Europe will bring about a big change in the fortunes of this season,” said the Sauber driver. Ta.
“Miami wasn’t really our weekend, but we still learned a lot and hopefully we can use those lessons to improve. We have some updates planned for this weekend. “That will allow us to move forward and hopefully get our first points of the season,” added Bottas. “After some tough races, I am hoping to get good results here in Imola and in Monaco next week to start the European leg of the calendar in the best possible way.”
In fact, Chou Guanyu had his best result with Sauber in Miami, finishing 11th in the F1 sprint race. This weekend, he will race for the second time in F1 at the historic venue where he recorded PP15 during the 2022 season.
“The whole team has been working hard over the past two weeks, reuniting after Miami and focusing on finalizing the upgrades we are bringing to Imola. We are delighted to be able to race this track again after last year’s event was cancelled. I have fond memories of racing in this area when I was a junior, and I always enjoy visiting,” Chou said.
“With new parts on our car and a different track layout to Miami, we are confident and motivated to make positive changes to the season,” added the Sauber driver. “It’s vital that we get things right from the first session. We know how important it is to get a good position in qualifying and we hope this will help us regain our place heading into Sunday’s points battle. I hope.”
