Formula 1 is coming to Imola this weekend – and is returning to the screen on RTL! We broadcast the fourth race of the season, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, LIVE and exclusively on free TV. On Sunday we will report from the track from 2 p.m. Who then starts from the front will be decided on Saturday in the first sprint race of the year. Because different F1 laws apply in Imola at the weekend.
On the legendary track, Formula 1 is holding the first of three sprint races of the season on Saturday (in addition to Imola, in Spielberg and Sao Paulo). As a reminder: With the 100-kilometer race, the F1 bosses want to upgrade the GP Saturday. And in two ways.
On the one hand, the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday (then LIVE on RTL) will be determined in the race quickie. On the other hand, the sprint can be used to make really fat loot this season. The winner collects eight points, the second seven, the third six… and the eighth still gets a point.
Last year only the top 3 of the sprint got points on their account (3-2-1).
TV and stream tip: Start of the ADAC GT Masters 2022 – Saturday and Sunday LIVE on Nitro and RTL+, the qualifying sessions LIVE on sport.de
The Imola schedule
Friday, April 22, 1:30 p.m.: 1st free practice
Friday, April 22, 5:00 p.m.: Qualifying
Saturday, April 23, 12:30 p.m.: 2nd free practice
Saturday April 23, 4:30 p.m.: Sprint race
Sunday, April 24, 3:00 p.m.: Race (from 2 p.m., LIVE on RTL)
The schedule at the Imola weekend is also different than usual. On Friday there is only one practice session for the drivers and teams to find the best setup. Large upgrade packages for the cars are therefore not necessarily to be expected.
The official qualifying takes place on Friday evening. Change compared to the previous year: Whoever sets the best time in qualifying officially gets the pole position. That doesn’t mean, however, that the pole setter will also start from pole on Sunday, because the grid for the race is known to be determined in a sprint. In the Friday qualification, the order for the sprint on Saturday is decided.
In short: whoever takes pole position on Friday starts from 1st place on Saturday and therefore has the best chance of starting from the front on Sunday as well. But all of them don’t matter anyway: the main thing is Formula 1 again on RTL on Sunday!