Lewis Hamilton said he was impressed by his first lap of Imola in a Formula 1 car, but warned that overtaking will be difficult for tomorrow’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
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The Mercedes driver topped the times in the only practice session at a track that is hosting a grand prix for the first time in 14 years.
“This track is incredible,” Hamilton said. “It’s unbelievable how fast it is around here. For a single lap, it’s going to be amazing.”
Despite praising the circuit’s speed, he cautioned that its narrow, flowing layout will make passing difficult, with limited overtaking opportunities outside the long run from the final corner to the Tamburello chicane.
“It’s definitely not going to be a great race circuit for overtaking—it’s so fast and quite narrow,” he explained. “It’ll be very difficult for people to pass.”
“You might see some moves in the midfield after turn two, and maybe down the main straight. But overall, on a single lap it’s phenomenal to drive — incredibly fast.”
Hamilton also said the tyres are working much better at Imola than they did last weekend at the Autodromo do Algarve, where low temperatures and a fresh surface left drivers struggling for grip.
“The tyres are working with this circuit — the grip level is high,” he said. “Most corners are medium to high speed and the track is very fast and flowing. For some reason the tyres are really sticking to the road more than at the last circuit. It’s incredibly fast and flowing — beautiful to drive.”
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