Imola Circuit in profile
Last Updated: 24/05/23 2:25pm
Imola returned to the F1 calendar in 2020 to help fill in gaps caused by cancellations of other events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
F1 first officially visited there in 1980 as the Italian GP, then became the San Marino GP from 1981 to 2006.
Gerhard Berger had a fiery crash at the 1989 event at Tamburello, but walked away unharmed. However, the 1994 weekend is widely seen as the darkest Grand Prix in F1.
Track length - 4.909km
Number of laps - 63
In Friday practice, Rubens Barrichello suffered a severe concussion when he crashed at the Variante Bassa chicane.
On Saturday, Roland Ratzenberger crashed at Villeneuve Corner at 195mph and died. On race day, Ayrton Senna had an accident at Tamburello and also passed away.
Changes were subsequently made to the track, including the flat-out Tamburello featuring a chicane and other parts of the circuit being slowed down.
In 2005, Fernando Alonso held off Michael Schumacher in a classic race and the latter returned the favour by beating his rival 12 months later in 2006, which was the last San Marino GP.
The circuit is nearby Ferrari's headquarters in the town of Maranello and runs within view of some of the locals' houses, so it is genuinely possible to sit at home, eating pasta and watching a Formula 1 race. Could life get any better than that?
Renamed as the Emilia Romagna GP, Imola come back in 2020 as a two-day event, with Lewis Hamilton taking the win. Max Verstappen won the 2021 and 2022 races, while the 2023 event was cancelled due to major flooding in the region.
