Feeder Series Preview: Imola
- DIVEBOMB Motorsport
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Jasmin Low and Trisha Lynnette, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula 2 heads to Italy for round 4 of the 2025 season, marking the beginning of the European leg of the calendar. Nestled in the hills of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (better known as Imola) will host the first of three consecutive race weekends.
Now officially over a quarter of the way through 2025, the championship order remains a mix of experienced and rookie drivers. For those stepping up from Formula 3, this weekend presents an opportunity to excel on a familiar circuit and boost their championship ranking.
When the F2 grid last took to Imola, Gabriel Bortoleto topped the timing sheets in qualifying, executing a flawless run, while the majority of the grid struggled with track limits, having their times deleted. Track Limits will continue to be a major focus point for drivers over the weekend, as the grass and gravel run-off areas surrounding the 4.909 km (3.5 mi) circuit leave little room for error. Imola only has one DRS zone, situated along the start-finish straight.
The 2024 Sprint Race both started and ended dramatically. The first lap was riddled with incidents, as a moment between Roman Staněk and Isack Hadjar set off a chain reaction of incidents. Hadjar’s Campos spun into the paths of Joshua Dürksen and Enzo Fittipaldi, whilst Dennis Hauger collided with Staněk’s Invicta machine, unable to avoid the stranded cars.
Italy seems to be the land of luck for newly-promoted Alpine F1 driver Franco Colapinto, as his ventures at Imola in Formula 2 machinery brought him his maiden victory in the championship. The Argentinian executed a last-lap overtake on Paul Aron, hunting down the Estonian and making the move around the outside at Tamburello, one of the circuit’s only overtaking spots.
Hadjar redeemed himself on Sunday during the Feature Race, executing an impressive defensive display and holding off eventual title rival Gabriel Bortoleto to take the win. Bortoleto suffered a poor start from pole position, promoting Oliver Bearman to first on the road. However, it wasn’t to be for the Briton, who stalled twice in the pit lane.
Tyre strategies were split across the field, a trend set to continue this year, as Pirelli brings the soft and supersoft compounds for the drivers to use, slightly different to the supersoft-medium range from 2024. Drivers must utilise both compounds in the Feature Race, as strategy proves to be crucial in deciding the final order.
The Championship
Experience is playing into the hands of championship leader Richard Verschoor after a successful weekend in Jeddah, winning the Feature Race and claiming fourth in the Sprint. The Dutchman leads the championship by 12 points from Campos Racing’s Pepe Martí.
Leonardo Fornaroli is hot on the heels of the Spaniard, just one point behind in third place. Campos Racing leads the Teams’ championship from MP Motorsport and Invicta Racing, and will be motivated by their previous successes at the circuit to extend their lead.
Formula 3
Formula 3 is back after a month, in Italy for the Emilia- Romagna Grand Prix. A legendary track for all series alike, the 30 drivers are set to do their best on track. This race marks the beginning of the European triple header in the series.
Looking at the last race, we saw Rafael Câmara along with Trident further their lead in the championship after the feature race wins in Sakhir. His closest competitors are Tim Tramnitz and Callum Voisin, who fared strongly in the desert. However, Tramnitz trails the Brazilian by a significant margin of 26 points.
Santiago Ramos also holds the spotlight today, as he returns back to the track a year after having taken pole position. However Trident drivers were the ones who triumphed, with Sami Meguetounif taking the win.
In the lead-up to the Imola weekend, two faces return to the series. Former stand-in and GB3 racer James Hedley returns to the series with AIX Racing, alongside former Van Amersfoort racer Brad Benavides for the rest of 2025. Both drivers replace Javier Sagrera and the outgoing Freddie Slater, who impressed on his one-off appearance in Bahrain.
Coming to the track, this 4.909 Km (3.05 miles) circuit has 19 corners, providing only one DRS zone to the drivers in the race. The track is very challenging, featuring tricky turns, high-speed straights and complex curves. This anti-clockwise circuit brings an old-school feel while being a thrill ride.
This circuit has been home to a great amount of motorsport history, having seen some of the greatest in motorsport history race.
While the track is majorly known for the untimely death of the great Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the track has seen wins from memorable drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Alain Prost. As for Formula 3, the track saw the drivers race in 2022 and 2024, where Roman Staněk and Sami Meguetounif took the feature race wins.
As for the teams, fans are excited to see the battle between MP Motorsport and Campos Racing who are separated by a mere two points. This race weekend could turn the tables for a lot of teams and drivers, increasing the pressure for each to do well on track.
The F3 sprint race takes place on Saturday at 10:05 A.M. (local time in Imola)
The F3 feature race takes place on Sunday at 8:30 A.M. (local time in Imola)
Make sure to catch the race live and if you can’t, don’t worry! Head back over to DIVEBOMB for all the action you might’ve missed.
Comments