The 6 biggest storylines as F1 heads to Imola

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F1 heads to northern Italy for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and here are the biggest storylines

The Formula One world shifts to northern Italy this week, for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. This Grand Prix was added to the F1 calendar during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, originally intended to be a stop-gap replacement for that season. However, as additional races were canceled in 2021 it remained on the calendar, and in March of 2022 F1 added the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as a permanent fixture until at least the 2025 season.

Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Emilia Romagna Grand Prix back in 2020, but since then it has been — and stop me if you have heard this before — an all-Red Bull affair. Max Verstappen has won the most two editions of this Grand Prix, and last season saw Red Bull lock out the front row with Sergio Pérez coming in second. Lando Norris of McLaren scored his only podium of the 2022 campaign a year ago at Imola, coming in third behind the duo of Bulls.

Here are the six biggest storylines to follow as F1 heads to Italy.

The future of Nyck de Vries

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F1 fans know full well that “silly season” is always lingering. While we have yet to hear any concrete news regarding drivers losing their seat for the 2024 campaign, last week saw the first rumblings that a team was unhappy with one of their drivers, and their place on the grid was becoming unsettled.

AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries has struggled through the start of the season, and is coming off an 18th-place finish two weeks ago in Miami. Prior to that, de Vries notched a DNF when he slid off the track in Baku in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

His recent struggles have led to speculation that he could be replaced this season if his form does not improve. One report noted that Daniel Ricciardo could be given the chance to slide into his seat if de Vries could not right the ship, and while those reports were subsequently dismissed, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has reportedly issued a “yellow flag” to the rookie, giving him until mid-June to improve his performance.

“Nothing will happen in the next three races. We spoke to de Vries and he agrees with us: he needs to improve,” said Marko to F1 Insider. “The distance to teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who is doing a great job, is too big. To use footballer jargon, Nick got the yellow card, but not the red yet. If he improves, a driver change will not be an issue.”

The driver could benefit from a package of upgrades AlphaTauri is bringing to Imola. According to Guillaume Dezoteux, the team’s Head of Vehicle Performance, the AT04 will see some upgrades this week, including a new floor. “We are looking forward to introduction,” said Dezoteux to Motorsport. “It is an important step, it is a big step, so we hope it will meet expectations. There is always a question mark over the quality of correlation. But so far, the updates we have done meet expectations.”

Whether those updates bring relief for de Vries, however, is a different question.

The grid becomes a grind starting this week

Imola kicks off the first of two triple headers on the 2023 F1 calendar. Following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this week, the teams will head to Monaco for the crown jewel of the F1 calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix. Then it is to Barcelona the following week, for the AWS Spanish Grand Prix.

The only other triple header comes later this fall, when the teams will head from Texas to Mexico, and then Brazil, for three-straight races.

The compressed schedule over the next few weeks will make life difficult for the drivers and the teams, particularly when you consider the differences between the three tracks themselves. While Imola and Barcelona are more traditional racing circuits, Monaco is a punishing street course where qualifying is critical.

How the teams, and the drivers, handle these next three weeks could tell the story of the entire 2023 F1 season.

Can Haas make an Aston Martin-style leap?

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The success so far from Aston Martin has been one of the major storylines to the young F1 season, and we will get to them more in a moment. But as someone who also covers the NFL — and knows full well how when one team has success, 31 teams look to emulate their progress — it is no surprise to see other lower-level teams looking to manufacture an Aston Martin-style leap of their own.

Once such team? Haas.

The team currently sits seventh in the Constructors’ standings at the moment, one spot ahead of where they finished a year ago. Haas is also coming off a strong performance in Miami, where Kevin Magnussen qualified fourth ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. Magnussen could not challenge for the team’s first podium, but his tenth-place finish earned Haas another hard-fought point in the standings.

However, consider this. A season ago Haas finished behind Aston Martin in the standings, with Aston Martin on 55 points and Haas on 37. Now? Aston Martin is in second, having vaulted well ahead of Haas and other midfield teams.

Now Magnussen is hoping that Haas can create their own leap up the table.

“We knew we were going to take a step with the car this year and we were confident about that and it shows on the track,” said Magnussen to RaceFans. “We do have that performance that we were hoping for. Other teams have just done a really good job, too. So we’re still in that mix of the midfield. Of course, we would love to be towards the top, taking a big step like Aston Martin. But that’s what we’ve got to aim to do in the future.”

Speaking of Aston Martin … 33 soon? And can they pressure Red Bull?

Following the finish in Miami, where Fernando Alonso notched his fourth podium in five races, the veteran driver had this to say trackside: “I think at the beginning of the year a podium was amazing. Now after four podiums we want obviously more and at least a second place. But, you know, the two Red Bulls they are always unbreakable and they are always super-fast. But as I said, maybe Monaco, maybe Barcelona we have a possibility.”

Then in the formal post-race press conference, Alonso elaborated.

“Obviously, we want to step on step higher on the podium for P2 and eventually one day we have an opportunity to win a race – but at the moment it didn’t happen because Red Bull is better than us. It’s stronger, it’s faster and the reliability has been always outstanding for them as well, finishing both cars in every race. So, yeah, if one day there is a crack there, if there is an opportunity, we need to make sure we are in that position and we’re still not making mistakes at any point in the weekend,” he said in Miami. “I think in Imola it’s going to be an interesting fight again. As you said, a lot of teams will bring upgrades to the car. Mercedes, probably Ferrari as well and we will try to keep finishing in front of them on Sunday.”

Alonso seems to be eying the upcoming triple-header as a chance for Aston Martin to make some moves, and perhaps move up the podium. If they pull that off, it might just start to put some pressure on Red Bull at the front of the field.

Can a team — or teams — find the right upgrades in time?

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As noted by Alonso, the other teams on the grid right now are seeking the right set up upgrades to push them up the field, and closer to the pair of RB19s at the front.

According to one report, Aston Martin is one of those teams, looking to bring their first big upgrade package to Imola this week. Following the Australian Grand Prix, Team Principal Mike Krack noted that Aston Martin planned upgrades for upcoming races, including Imola. “The biggest improvements will come later in the year. We’ll have some new parts in Baku, Imola, Montréal, and some at Silverstone but we’ll bring each small increment as soon as it’s ready, rather than waiting to bundle everything up into big packages,” said Krack after the Australian GP. “It’s an approach that worked well for us last year with the AMR22.”

Of course, they are not the only team eying improvements. Mercedes has been struggling to find the right setup for the W14 all season long, with both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton battling their challenger throughout the young campaign. While their performance to date is a huge improvement from the porpoising issues the Silver Arrows endured a season ago, they are still trying to deliver the necessary upgrades.

“We need to manage our own expectations, because we’re bringing an update package that’s going to consist of new suspension parts, bodywork and some other things,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said after the Miami Grand Prix.

However, while Hamilton is hoping for a “one-second upgrade,” Wolff cautioned that there are no quick fixes in F1.

“But I have never in my 15 years in F1 seen a silver bullet being introduced, where suddenly you unlock half a second of performance,” added the Mercedes Team Principal. “So, I very much doubt that this is going to happen here.”

Then there is McLaren. When SB Nation spoke exclusively with Lando Norris ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the driver outlined how Baku and Miami were going to be the start of their upgrades.

“We’ve got a couple new bits on the car which is good, the team’s done a very good job to get them for now. But I think these are the things I think we said we should have started the season with. But we’ve got them now, which I think is the main thing,” said Norris ahead of Azerbaijan. “They should definitely move the car forward. It’s not maybe the best track to show that, and to prove that exactly. It’s a bit more biased, and the places it’ll help improve the car maybe aren’t shown that much on this track, maybe a little bit more in Miami. It’s definitely going to be a step forward, definitely going to be some things to help the car give me some more confidence and Oscar too.”

Team Principal Andrea Stella said that minor upgrades will be coming to the MCL60 for Imola, with the next big set of improvements arriving ahead of the summer break. “There will be small developments at Imola,” said Stella last week to Crash.net. “But only minor ones compared to the step we need to take to be consistently in the points, which is our goal.”

As for Ferrari, the Scuderia brought a new floor to Miami, but Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc complained of inconsistency from the SF-23. The team is planning on some minor upgrades for Imola, but they did find a silver lining in their performance in Miami, and in particular Leclerc’s crash near the end of Q3.

Jock Clear, Ferrari’s Senior Performance Engineer and the driver coach for Leclerc, saw a huge positive in Leclerc’s crash. “We saw Charles bottom out on the kerb in turn six. In that scenario, the car will be very tricky,” said Clear. “But as I say, I think quite ironically it’s a testament to what we’ve done to improve the car through the high-speed that Charles felt he could go for it on that last lap in qualifying and just pushed too far.”

The ultimate question: Can anyone catch the Bulls?

The ultimate storyline this F1 season this season is a simple question.

Can anyone catch Red Bull?

Right now, that looks unlikely. Verstappen and Pérez have pushed Red Bull to the top of the Constructor’s standings, a full 122 points clear of Aston Martin. Verstappen leads his teammates 119 to 105 in the Drivers’ standings, and the duo are the only drivers to reach triple digits so far this season, as Alonso sits third with 75 points on the year.

Can any of the teams put pressure on Red Bull, or are they already sailing to another title?