After a thrilling start to the season with a series of flyaway events, Formula 1 arrived in Europe for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. This year’s race at the iconic Imola circuit, was particularly significant, as the race in 2023 was cancelled due to severe and deadly flooding.
Race Guide
Date: 17th May 2024 – 19th May 2024
Circuit: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Laps: 63
Circuit length: 4.909km
Previous Winner: N/A (2023 race called off due to flooding in the region)
With Lando Norris’s surprise win for McLaren in Miami, teams and drivers headed to the historic track, known for its fast straights and technical corners, with some uncertainty as to who would win at Imola. Adding to the mix of unpredictability, as the first European race of the season, many of the teams brought major upgrades to their cars.
Weekend schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2024 | Free Practice 1 (FP1) | 1:30 pm local time |
| 17 May 2024 | Free Practice 2 (FP2) | 5:00 pm local time |
| 18 May 2024 | Free Practice 3 (FP3) | 12:30 pm local time |
| 18 May 2024 | Qualifying | 4:00 pm local time |
| 19 May 2024 | Race | 3:00 pm local time |
Following Sprint events in Miami and China, the traditional weekend format returned at Imola, allowing drivers to hit the track for the FP1 and FP2 practice sessions on Friday afternoon. Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets during both sessions, with championship leader Max Verstappen struggling for grip in both. During FP3 on Saturday, Oscar Piastri led a chaotic final practice session, finishing ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. The session was marked by two red flags caused by Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez, both crashing out.
In Saturday afternoon qualifying, Max Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna’s long-standing record of eight consecutive Formula 1 pole positions by impressively bouncing back to deny McLaren more spoils since their win in Miami two weeks earlier. While Verstappen had faced a serious challenge from the McLaren drivers during the practice sessions, he ultimately found the necessary speed in qualifying, delivering a final lap of 1:14.746 to edge out Oscar Piastri, who initially qualified second, and Lando Norris, securing the top spot on the grid by less than a tenth of a second. Piastri would later be demoted three places for impeding Kevin Magnussen in Q1.
Max Verstappen returned to winning form by taking victory in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, successfully fending off a thrilling late charge from Lando Norris. After a strong start from pole position, Verstappen built up a solid lead in the early stages. The Red Bull driver enjoyed a mostly serene drive around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari until Norris’s McLaren began to close the gap from P2 in the race’s latter stages. A dramatic finish ensued as Norris continued to cut into Verstappen’s lead. However, a snap of oversteer further wore out Norris’s ageing tyres, allowing Verstappen to hold on to P1 by just 0.725 seconds as the checkered flag waved. Despite initially challenging Norris for P2, Charles Leclerc settled for the final podium position in third, much to the delight of Ferrari’s home fans. Oscar Piastri secured P4, marking a solid performance for McLaren.
Championship background
Red Bull dominated the 2023 season, winning all but one of the 22 rounds. However, in 2024, after six rounds they were defeated twice, thanks to stellar performances from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The question before the race was whether these occasional chinks in Red Bull’s armour—further dented by the news that star designer Adrian Newey was leaving the team—would develop into more significant vulnerabilities as the season progressed.
Norris, who secured a maiden victory in Miami, also had a strong record at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, having finished third in the last two visits to Imola with less competitive McLarens. With the recently updated MCL38 at his disposal, and teammate Oscar Piastri set to receive the same updates, McLaren looked likely to be an even stronger force on the fast, flowing 4.909-kilometre track.
McLaren wasn’t the only team eyeing a challenge to Red Bull. Ferrari was eager to perform well on home soil with new updates alongside Mercedes, who introduced more updates, and Aston Martin, aiming to build on their flashes of pace.
The battle lower down the field was also tight. VCARB (RB) were holding their own against Haas in the race for P6 in the constructors’ standings and Alpine were now off the mark with their first points finish of the season in Miami, while Williams and Kick Sauber were still striving to score their first.
Race entries
FP1 saw Haas driver Kevin Magnussen relinquish his seat for Ferrari and Haas reserve driver Oliver Bearman, who had also made his impressive F1 race debut for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia when he replaced Carlos Sainz due to illness. Magnussen resumed normal activity from FP2 onwards.
Aside from FP1, which featured Oliver Bearman, all the drivers from the start of the season took to the track during FP2, FP3, Qualifying and the Grand Prix.
Tyre choices
Pirelli selected the three softest tyre compounds from their 2024 range for the weekend’s action at Imola. The C3 served as the white-marked hard tyre, the C4 as the yellow-marked medium, and the C5 as the red-marked soft.
With the three softest compounds in play, teams would have more strategic options during the race. Traditionally, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix had been a one-stop race, a strategy often reinforced by the significant pit lane time loss at this track.
According to Pirelli, while the track was not particularly demanding in terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, the asphalt remained relatively abrasive despite the most recent resurfacing work dating back to 2011. This unique combination promised an exciting mix of strategy and tyre management during the race.
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Free Practice
In FP1 there were a number of incidents during the first practice session of the weekend, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton both experiencing some sketchy moments. Charles Leclerc finished fastest for Ferrari, followed by George Russell in the Mercedes in second, and Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz in third, Sergio Perez in fourth, and Verstappen in fifth, both in the Red Bull.
During FP2, Charles Leclerc led again, coming out on top after setting the fastest lap during second practice, leading Oscar Piastri in second for McLaren and a surprise Yuki Tsunoda in the VCARB in third. Verstappen struggled again in FP2 finishing seventh.
On Saturday during FP3 McLaren’s Oscar Piastri broke Ferrari’s streak at the top of the timesheets by setting the fastest time in the third and final practice session. Piastri led the session, followed by Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, in an hour that saw two red flags.
Full Free Practice Reports
Free Practice 1 Classification
FP1 was held on 17 May 2024, at 1:30 pm local time.
Free Practice 2 Classification
FP2 was held on 17 May 2024, at 5:00 pm local time.
Free Practice 3 Classification
FP3 was held on 18 May 2024, at 12:30 pm local time.
Qualifying
Max Verstappen extended his streak of pole positions by securing P1 on the grid for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with a commanding lap in Imola. The Dutchman set a formidable benchmark during the initial runs of Q3 and improved further on his final effort, clocking a time of 1m 14.746s in his Red Bull. This put him 0.074s ahead of second-placed Oscar Piastri, who was later penalised three grid places for impeding Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in Q1, and McLaren teammate Lando Norris in third.
Full Qualifying Report
Qualifying Classification
Qualifying was held on 18 May 2024, at 4:00 pm local time.
What happened in the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?
Despite a challenging Friday in the car, Verstappen bounced back during Saturday’s qualifying, securing his eighth consecutive pole position, just ahead of the McLaren duo, Piastri and Norris.
However, Piastri received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Haas’s Magnussen during Q1, dropping him to P5. This promoted Norris to the front row and moved the Ferrari pair up to the second row.
Alonso, on the other hand, was set to start from the pit lane due to late suspension setup changes on his Aston Martin, adding to his difficult weekend after qualifying in 19th place.
As the cars lined up on the grid, most of the field would start on medium tyres, while Alonso and Gasly opted for softs, and Perez, Sargeant, and Zhou chose the hard compound for an anticipated one-stop race.
At the start of the 63-lap event, both Verstappen and Norris had strong launches, but polesitter Verstappen pulled ahead. While Norris faced potential threats from the Ferraris, the top six maintained their positions through a clean first lap.
Further back, notable moves were happening: Hamilton advanced to P7, and Perez overtook Ricciardo to claim P10, marking a solid start for the Mexican on hard tyres.
As the race settled, Verstappen extended his lead to over a second by Lap 4, with Norris trying to stay close. Leclerc was another second behind the McLaren, followed closely by Sainz and Piastri.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton found themselves in a solitary P6 and P7, while a DRS train formed behind Hulkenberg in P8 after an impressive start from P10.
By Lap 8, Piastri struggled to overtake Sainz despite being within half a second. Sainz received no assistance from teammate Leclerc, who was creating a gap rather than providing DRS support.
Trouble struck Albon two laps later as he slowed after a pit stop for hard tyres. “I’ve got a problem, tyre isn’t on properly,” he reported while attempting to return to the pit lane.
The Williams did make it back to the pits, where the team fitted a set of medium tyres and sent him back on track. Meanwhile, other drivers began their pit stops, including Alonso and Ricciardo, who changed to fresh rubber.
Drama unfolded for Alonso as he noticed his front brakes were on fire upon exiting the pit lane and rejoining near the rear of the pack. Elsewhere, Tsunoda had been stuck behind Hulkenberg for a while, prompting RB to bring the Japanese driver in for a pit stop.
Hulkenberg pitted a lap later, but Tsunoda had successfully undercut him, retaining P14 when Hulkenberg returned to the track. Up ahead, Verstappen led Norris by five seconds as the race reached Lap 16.
Piastri continued to struggle to overtake Sainz in their battle for P5. Off-track, the stewards announced an investigation into Albon for an unsafe release during his earlier pit-lane incident.
Replays showed Perez had a moment on Lap 18, losing several seconds as he ran wide into the gravel. Despite this, he held onto P8, though it allowed ninth-placed Stroll to close the gap.
By Lap 21, Verstappen reported issues with his front left tyre, prompting Russell to pit for hard tyres a lap later. A flurry of pit stops followed, with Norris pitting from second place and rejoining in P7 behind Perez.
Ferrari appeared to be attempting an overcut, but Norris, after clearing Perez within a few laps, thwarted their plan. Piastri also stopped, then overtook Stroll for P7, showing strong pace.
Race leader Verstappen soon pitted, followed by Leclerc a lap later, leaving Sainz and Hamilton out front as they had not yet pitted. Leclerc and Piastri quickly passed Perez, while Sainz and Hamilton pitted on Lap 28.
Sainz rejoined in sixth behind Piastri and Perez, a favourable outcome for McLaren as Ferrari now had to overtake Red Bull. Further back, Tsunoda executed an impressive overtake on Sargeant, with the Williams yet to pit.
As the race approached its halfway point, Verstappen led from Norris, Leclerc, and Piastri. Sainz had overtaken Perez, whose hard tyres were showing signs of wear, for fifth place.
Tsunoda’s aggressive afternoon continued as he clinched P11 from Zhou, positioning himself well for potential points since drivers like Perez ahead still had to pit.
While the gaps among the front-runners remained steady, Norris expressed concern about his pace. “Why am I so much slower than the guys behind?” the McLaren driver asked his engineer on Lap 35. He was told that others were using their tyres more aggressively.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was closing in on Perez in the battle for seventh place. Given their different strategies, the Mexican did not put up much resistance, allowing the seven-time champion to pass through Tamburello.
Perez finally pitted on Lap 38, switching to medium tyres. Stroll and Magnussen also pitted around this time. Perez rejoined in P11, about two seconds behind Ricciardo in P10.
Within a couple of laps, Perez used DRS to pass Ricciardo, whose tyres were much older. He then overtook Hulkenberg for P9, with Tsunoda next in his sights. Meanwhile, Magnussen was locked in a fierce battle with Zhou for 16th place, with Zhou managing to stay ahead.
At the front, the battle for second place was intensifying. Leclerc had closed the gap to Norris to just under a second, prompting the McLaren team to urge their driver to pick up the pace. Leclerc was informed, “You are the fastest car on track.”
By Lap 43, Perez had overtaken Tsunoda for P8. Seventh place seemed challenging, with Hamilton 30 seconds ahead. In the other Red Bull, Verstappen was leading comfortably by six seconds from Norris.
Other duels were unfolding across the field. Stroll was chasing down Hulkenberg for P10, Aston Martin’s only chance at points, as Alonso’s difficult weekend continued in P19.
Magnussen persisted in his pursuit of Zhou with 15 laps remaining. After a prolonged scrap, the Haas driver made a clean move through Tamburello to claim P15. The other Kick Sauber, driven by Bottas, was in trouble in 13th, with Ocon close behind in the Alpine.
In the crucial battle for points, Stroll overtook Hulkenberg and set his sights on Tsunoda for P9, which he soon secured. Ocon, meanwhile, lost ground, allowing Magnussen to surge forward into P14.
Further ahead, Norris had managed to drop Leclerc and closed the gap slightly to Verstappen. By Lap 52, the gap had narrowed to four seconds as Verstappen’s tyres appeared to be degrading.
There was some late action in the pit lane when Russell stopped for medium tyres. The Mercedes rejoined in P7, 22 seconds behind teammate Hamilton, while Norris continued to eat into Verstappen’s lead.
With seven laps to go, Norris had reduced the gap to two seconds. Verstappen, meanwhile, expressed frustration with Tsunoda after lapping the RB driver, who did not move aside quickly enough under blue flags.
Albon became the first retiree of the day when the Williams team asked him to bring the car back to the garage, but the action on track remained intense. Verstappen’s lead over Norris dropped to 1.5 seconds with just a few laps left.
A heart-stopping moment of oversteer seemed to slow Norris’s charge slightly, as the gap remained steady. The Briton continued to struggle for grip on his ageing tyres as the final laps ticked down.
Despite pushing hard and nearly going off into the gravel, Norris was unable to close the gap any further. Verstappen crossed the line to take victory, just 0.725 seconds ahead of the McLaren.
“Had to work hard for that,” the Dutchman admitted over team radio after the checkered flag, while a disappointed Norris lamented his “hard luck.” Behind them, Leclerc secured the final podium position in third, with Piastri in fourth and Sainz in fifth.
The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Russell finished in a relatively uneventful sixth and seventh, while Perez took eighth place in the Red Bull. Stroll and Tsunoda rounded out the top 10, earning valuable points for Aston Martin and RB, respectively.
Hulkenberg and Magnussen finished P11 and P12 for Haas, with Ricciardo unable to make progress from P13, just ahead of Ocon in P14.
Zhou ended the day in 15th place as Kick Sauber continued to search for their first points of the season, while Gasly finished in 16th.
Sargeant was the sole Williams to finish the race, coming in P17, with Bottas following in P18. Alonso retired his Aston Martin in the latter stages, capping a challenging weekend in Imola for the Spaniard, and was classified in P19. Albon had retired on Lap 51, with Williams still yet to score points in 2024.
Russell earned an additional point for the fastest lap, benefiting from his fresh tyres after the late pit stop to set the quickest time of all.
2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race results
The 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Race was held on 19 May 2024, at 3:00 pm local time.
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 63 | 1:25:25.252 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 63 | +0.725s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 63 | +7.916s | 15 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 63 | +14.132s | 12 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 63 | +22.325s | 10 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 63 | +35.104s | 8 |
| 7 | 63 | George Russell1 | Mercedes | 63 | +47.154s | 7 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 63 | +54.776s | 4 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 63 | +79.556s | 2 |
| 10 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 62 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 62 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 51 | DNF | 0 |
2024 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings for Drivers’ and Teams after the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
2024 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 161 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Ferrari | 113 |
| 3 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 107 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren | 101 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Ferrari | 93 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren | 53 |
| 7 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes | 44 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes | 35 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Mercedes | 33 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | RB-Honda RBPT | 15 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Mercedes | 11 |
| 12 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | Ferrari | 6 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Haas Ferrari | 6 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | RB-Honda RBPT | 5 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine Renault | 1 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | DEN | Haas Ferrari | 1 |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | THA | Williams Mercedes | 0 |
| 18 | Zhou Guanyu | CHN | Stake F1 Team | 0 |
| 19 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Alpine Renault | 0 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Stake F1 Team | 0 |
| 21 | Logan Sargeant | USA | Williams Mercedes | 0 |
2024 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 268 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 212 |
| 3 | McLaren Mercedes | 154 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 79 |
| 5 | Aston Martin Mercedes | 44 |
| 6 | RB-Honda RBPT | 20 |
| 7 | Haas Ferrari | 7 |
| 8 | Alpine Renualt | 1 |
| 9 | Williams Mercedes | 0 |
| 10 | Stake F1 Team | 0 |
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