Imola’s Top Takeaways: Ferrari Falters Upwards, Williams Strikes, Alpine’s Rookie Gamble

Ferrari needs stronger foundations

Ferrari came to Imola hoping that their home turf would bring them a bit of a reprieve after a rocky start to the season. Yet misfortunes came before the weekend even began, as the team was forced to delay an upgrade package and Charles Leclerc came down with an illness, keeping him away from the paddock on Thursday. Things went from bad to worse on Saturday, as neither Ferrari made it into Q3 of qualifying on a track known to pose a challenge for overtaking.

Where the team did gain a bit of ground, however, was their execution during the race itself. Both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton managed to climb back into the points, with Charles Leclerc improving from P11 to P6 and Hamilton from P12 to P4. The team split their strategies between drivers, pitting Leclerc quite early, on lap 10, while keeping Hamilton out on an extended first stint. This allowed Leclerc to undercut some of the front runners, while Hamilton benefited from his position further up ahead during the two safety cars that came out in the race. Ultimately, strategy was their savior this week, as qualifying pace continues to be a downfall for the Scuderia.

Going forward, Ferrari must improve their foundations on Saturday to have a better chance at success on Sunday. With the field so tight and overtaking difficult, qualifying has become crucial for scoring points. Yet the team had their worst showing ever in Imola, as for the first time in the history of the Emilia-Romagna GP there was no Ferrari starting in the top 10. And while the team did have a great recovery during the race, Hamilton’s P4 and Leclerc’s P6 together netted just 20 points, 5 points less than Red Bull’s haul from Max Verstappen’s win alone. Their strategy may have helped to a degree today, but hoping for recovery drives like this every time should not be the norm.

That said, there are some bright spots for the team to focus on. First and foremost is Hamilton’s performance. Despite a hard learning curve in the Ferrari, Hamilton looked much more comfortable behind the wheel in Imola, even out-performing Leclerc during a grand prix for the first time this year. What’s more, this weekend showed that race pace is clearly in the car, with Hamilton himself saying, “There’s lots of positives to take away from today and we had pace, so we really need to dissect and understand where and why.”

‍

More wins for Williams

One of the biggest highlights of the weekend was how well Williams fared. Both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon performed well throughout every session, finishing within the top 10 in all three practices, qualifying and the race itself. Impressively, both out-qualified the two Ferraris, lining up P6 and P7, respectively. The team currently sits in a comfortable fifth overall, with 51 points, already triple their total 17 points from 2024.

This weekend continued a streak of performances in which Williams has been able to show the leaps and bounds in which they’ve progressed. Like many, they split their strategies between drivers, pitting Sainz on lap 11, and leaving Alex Albon out for a longer first run. Albon at first questioned the decision to have him go long, but once the virtual safety car was triggered by Esteban Ocon, he was able to make the most out of it, running in podium positions for a stretch of the race. And with the pace he had, that podium looked well within reach at points. Pitting early did ultimately hurt Sainz once the safety cars came out, but he too looked incredibly quick all weekend, even topping the time sheet at the end of Q2.

After the race, Albon commented on the clearly competitive pace that both he and Sainz had, saying, “I would honestly say Miami and here we’ve been quick… in my opinion, almost unexpectedly quick this weekend. I expected Miami to be good, but not here. It kind of opens the window for what else?”

Indeed, that is an enticing question. Imola was the fourth time in just seven races that Williams has brought home double points this season. With his P5, Albon matched his season best performance from the last round in Miami. And after a rocky start Sainz has been looking quite at-home in the car recently, even outperforming Ferrari by a full second in qualifying. With that podium seemingly within reach at Imola, Williams will surely be looking at how to continue the streak of great performances through this triple-header and beyond.

‍

The Colapinto conundrum

Perhaps the biggest talking point going into Imola was Franco Colapinto’s debut with Alpine. The team chose to put Colapinto in for Jack Doohan after just the first six races of the year, during which the Australian rookie was unable to score any points. And going into his first F1 session of 2025, the expectations for Colapinto were made clear when Alpine’s executive advisor and acting team principal, Flavio Britatore, said,  “He needs to be fast, not crash, and score points. I'm only asking him these three things - not 10. If he does them well, he will drive forever.”

The weekend, however, didn’t deliver exactly what Briatore asked for. After struggling to keep pace with his teammate, Pierre Gasly, throughout all three practices, Colapinto had an unfortunate shunt at the end of Q1 in qualifying that left him in the wall at turn four. This was reminiscent of Colapinto’s series of crashes throughout the end of his nine-race stint with Williams last year. And the troubles only continued on Sunday as he was not able to improve from his starting position of P16.

Yet despite the crash and lack of points, there is a glimmer of hope. Colapinto finished the race a mere 1.987s behind Gasly. While this is just his first race with Alpine, the fact that he was able to stay so close to Gasly is a positive sign for the team. In comparison, across the two sprints and two grands prix in which they both made it across the finish line this season, Doohan was an average 18.874s behind Gasly.

Of course, these numbers must be taken with a grain of salt, given their extremely small sample sizes. With the current state of things in F1, up-and-coming drivers seem to be increasingly expected to deliver results fast, lest they be replaced. As a result, they end up being denied the time that any driver at a new team would need to settle in, especially one with the limited F1 experience that these rookies have. This leads to a small pool of information to draw from, and an unclear picture of where they truly stand.

How much time Colapinto will have remains to be seen. Everything from just five races to as much time as he needs has been said. The reality will likely depend on his performance, and based on the mixed bag from his debut, it is still difficult to say whether this will be a comeback or a cautionary tale.

From legacy teams chasing redemption and underdogs battling for their spot at the top, to young rookies fighting for a chance to prove themselves, Imola has shown just how much of a pressure cooker this season is turning out to be. Only those who are able to learn under fire will thrive as the calendar goes on and the pressure gets even higher.