The 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Two Sprints and four regular Grands Prix are in the books, and now it’s time for the European leg of the season to finally kick off. We’re jumping straight into it too! It’s the second triple header of the year. And there’s a lot to talk about: from driver shake-ups to leadership exits and a flurry of upgrades expected at Imola. The crowd is electric, the racing is tight so fingers crossed we get more of that this weekend.

Kicking off Europe at a Classic Track

Six races down, and now we’re off to Imola for the first European round of 2025.

The team motorhomes are back, the paddock looks more familiar, and everything’s set up along the banks of the Santerno River. Imola’s been a fan and driver favorite since it returned to the calendar in 2020, despite 2023’s race being canceled due to floods.

Overtaking is tricky but not impossible, thanks to that flat-out stretch into Tamburello. And we got a thriller here last year, when Norris chased Verstappen right down to the wire, finishing just 0.7s behind, whilst Ferrari holy child Leclerc finishing in third. Speaking of Ferrari..

Ferrari Needs Answers.. Fast

One team especially hoping their upgrades make a difference? Ferrari.

It’s been a rocky season so far: one podium, one Sprint win, a double disqualification in China, and under 100 points as a team. That leaves them fourth in the standings, a whopping 152 points behind McLaren.

Miami was another tough one, with Leclerc and Hamilton both finishing seventh and eighth and getting beaten by Alex Albon in the Williams. Not exactly where Ferrari expected to be.

But Hamilton remains optimistic. He says the team is working on key weaknesses, and Imola is a home race in front of the Tifosi, which would be the ideal place to start turning things around.

Upgrades Expected

In Miami, a few teams rolled out new parts, but with only one practice session in a Sprint weekend, it was a bit of a gamble and not many were willing to take that risk.

But now Imola is the first traditional race weekend in a while, with three full practice sessions and the convenience of being close to home base for most teams. That makes it the perfect place to unleash those big upgrade packages everyone’s been working on.

And with three races coming up in just over two weeks; Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona, the teams will be hoping to see an immediate payoff from their development efforts.

McLaren looked particularly strong in Miami, but they know from experience how quickly things can change once upgrades start rolling in. Will we see another shake-up in the pecking order?

Colapinto’s Back in The Game

We’re just six races into the season and already seeing our third driver swap. Sure, two of those changes were tied to the Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson switch in Japan, but this latest one is all about Franco Colapinto making his return, this time in an Alpine race seat.

Jack Doohan is back to being a reserve driver after a rough start to the season. He showed promise at times, but six races in and still no points meant Alpine decided to make a move.

Colapinto’s been waiting for his shot ever since Alpine signed him following his solid run with Williams last year. Now he’s getting at least five races to prove he deserves that seat long term, and maybe even become Pierre Gasly’s teammate in 2026.

After five months off the grid, Colapinto will be looking to make an immediate impact at Imola, especially with Monaco and Barcelona right around the corner.

Alipine’s Instability Continues

While all eyes are on the driver swap at Alpine, the team’s also dealing with a major shake-up off the track: Team Principal Oliver Oakes has stepped down.

There were already rumors about a driver change during the Miami weekend, but Oakes’ exit came out of the blue and was announced just two days after the race.

Flavio Briatore is set to take over a big chunk of Oakes’ responsibilities, which likely includes handling media duties at Imola. Alpine’s had a turbulent start to the year, and this latest change only adds to the intrigue heading into Europe.