Formula 1 returned to Imola, for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - a classic, old-school circuit steeped in history and speed, for the first European race of the season and the start of the second triple header of the year. With late spring sun and fresh upgrades on many cars, the track was set for an exciting weekend.
Practice
Ollie kicked things off in the first Practice session, being the only one in his team with the new upgrades at first, so they could compare data between his car and that of his teammates.
By the second Practice session, Ollie was showing a stronger pace, running within the top 15, before a red flag brought out an early end to the session. In the last Practice session, he was once again the quicker of the two Haas cars, showing improved pace heading into Qualifying.
Qualifying
Ollie was lapping comfortably within the top 15 throughout the first qualifying session, even running as high as P8. However, a late-session crash saw Colapinto caught on the grass coming out of Tamburello, sending him spinning into the gravel and ultimately into the barrier. The session was red flagged.
When Colapinto crashed in the final minutes, Ollie had already set a lap fast enough to put him into Q2… or so it seemed.
As the field reassembled and Q2 began, Ollie’s lap time remained under review. Confusion reigned in the pit lane, with one car preparing to start Q2 and the Haas crew ultimately standing down. It was later ruled that his lap time did not stand, and Ollie was pushed out of qualifying despite showing the pace to go further.
The Race
Determined to make up ground after being made to start at the back of the grid, Ollie made a strong start, climbing to P15 within the first dozen laps and sitting as high as P9 as the two-stop strategies unfolded among other teams.
Staying out on this opening set of hard tyres gave him a shot at track position before his teammate was forced to retire his car, prompting a Virtual Safety Car, where Ollie pitted. Rejoining in P13, after his stop, Ollie was called back into the pits because of a suspected tyre fitting issue, rejoining the race at the back of the pack.
Ollie had the opportunity to unlap himself under a late-race Safety Car, clawing back some time in the process. In the closing laps, he managed to execute one final overtake to bring it home in P17 - following two driver DNFs.
Looking Ahead
Following a weekend of highs, lows and what ifs, Ollie showed a glimmer of pace to fight further up the grid. Next, all eyes turn to Monaco (23-25 May), a ‘home’ track for many drivers, where anything can happen.
