Imola GP: Formula 1: The 2023 Emilia Romagna GP has been cancelled owing to the threat of a heavy rain and storm warnings. The decision came after due consideration by FIA, F1 management, local authorities, and other stakeholders. Though the decision was a plausible one after looking at the threatening circumstances posed by the territorial rain, it might have left a lot of teams in despair, primarily Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren. Follow Formula 1 Updates with InsideSport.IN.
All these three teams were planning on introducing major upgrades in the cars at Imola. Ferrari planned to twitch their rear suspension by adjusting ride height, giving them a better downforce. Doing it in Imola had even more significance because it is a home track to the Red Team. At the same time, McLaren also had some upgrades planned to find some extra miles in their straight-line speed, which was terribly exposed in Miami.
The biggest change, however, was planned by the Silver Arrows team in the form of the B-spec. Mercedes got the design terribly wrong that the start of the new season after a major overhaul in rules. The narrow side pods, which the team considered as secret guns, did not work to their reputation. After a year of development, the team is surely fighting for podiums now but that is just not enough. Thus they decided to bring in major suspension-related upgrades to unlock more downforce without sacrificing ride control. This would change the W-14 by close to 80 percent from its inception.
Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren amongst teams affected by Imola debacle
The upgrades were highly crucial to the teams at this juncture. After collecting data from the first five rounds of the championship, teams were ready to roll out upgrades to improve thier performance. It was important to do so at Emilia Romagna GP as the track allows better assessment of the working or failure of those upgrades. Secondly, the teams chose Imola as the race to bring in the upgrades for one another important reason which is its location.
There are high transportation costs connected with carrying new parts to race weekends. Teams chose European venues to introduce major changes because they’re closer to the team HQs. Emilia Romagna GP was scheduled to kick-off the European leg the tournament. It was the first of the European triple header, to be followed by Monaco and Spanish GP.
Now, the next viable venue for the teams to introduce these upgrades is the Spanish GP, primarily due to the limitations that Monaco offers, in terms of being a risky track. This delay of 2 races could be crucial for the constructors’ standings in the long run. Currently, Mercedes stands at 3rd spot closely followed by Ferrari in 4th and McLaren in 5th. The three teams with prestige and legacy in the sport are finding it difficult to compete at the front as of now.
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