The 2022 F1 season moves to Europe for its fourth race of the season with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy.
So far, after three races, the normally elite Mercedes team remains slower than usual as concerns about the car remain. They are currently second behind a resurgent Ferrari team in the 2022 Constructor Standings and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton sits in 5th in the Drivers Standings behind both Ferrari drivers (Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr) Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Last year’s champion Max Verstappen currently sits in 6th place after failing to finish the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago due to a mechanical failure with his car.
This will be the third year that the racetrack at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (also known as Imola) has returned to the circuit, replacing the Chinese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was the race winner in 2020, while Max Verstappen won last year.
The Imola race will be the first of three sprint races on the 2022 F1 schedule. A schedule for a sprint race is slightly different as teams only have two practice sessions, which could impact teams like Mercedes who are still trying to resolve issues with their car.
After the two practices, qualifying takes place on Friday followed by the sprint race on Saturday. In a sprint race, the cars compete in a 100km dash with no mandatory pit stops and drivers racing flat-out to the checkered flag. The top eight finishers receive points for themselves and their teams, with the driver who finishes P1 getting eight points rather than the three they received in last year’s format.
The finishing order of the F1 Sprint will also help to define the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix TV, how to watch
Qualifying
- Date: Friday, April 22
- Time: 11:00 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN2
The Sprint
- Date: Saturday, April 23
- Time: 12:25 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
The Race
- Date: Sunday, April 24
- Time: 8:55 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
For more F1 Coverage, visit TailgateSports.com
Emilia Romagna Sprint odds
| Driver | Odds to win | Odds to finish Top 6 | Sprint Podium Odds |
| Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | -105 | -700 | -450 |
| Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) | +240 | -550 | -250 |
| Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | +275 | -550 | -250 |
| Sergio Perez (Red Bull) | +1400 | -400 | +170 |
| Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | +1800 | -330 | +190 |
| George Russell (Mercedes) | +4000 | -225 | +475 |
| Lando Norris (McLaren) | +13000 | +160 | +850 |
| Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) | +13000 | +175 | +1200 |
| Fernando Alonso (Alpine) | +15000 | +175 | +1200 |
| Esteban Ocon (Alpine) | +15000 | +285 | +2200 |
| Kevin Magnussen (Haas) | +25000 | +400 | +4000 |
| Mick Schumacher (Haas) | +30000 | +550 | +5000 |
| Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) | +30000 | +380 | +6500 |
| Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) | +30000 | +350 | +3500 |
| Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) | +50000 | +1800 | +8000 |
| Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) | +70000 | +8000 | +40000 |
| Alexander Albon (Williams) | +70000 | +10000 | +40000 |
| Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) | +70000 | +3500 | +25000 |
| Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) | +70000 | +6500 | +40000 |
| Nicholas Latifi (Williams) | +80000 | +30000 | +50000 |
Emilia Romagna Sprint Darkhorse Pick
Kevin Magnussen to finish top six (+400)
Magnussen has been driving pretty well in his return to F1, with a 5th-place finish in the first race, followed by a 9th-place finish in Saudi Arabia. It didn’t go great for him in Australia, but he was flying in his first open practice in the rain on Friday in Imola. The Sprint Race is also an ideal opportunity for lower-end teams like Haas to go all-out in the hopes of securing crucial points in the Constructor’s Standings. Given Magnussen’s performance early in the season and the importance of the points to the team, I think this is a solid darkhorse pick to throw a few bucks on.
2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Odds
| Driver | Odds to Win | Odds to Finish Top Three | Odds to Finish Top Six | Odds to Finish Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Leclerc | +105 | -335 | -670 | -910 |
| Max Verstappen | +180 | -335 | -670 | -1000 |
| Carlos Sainz | +800 | -125 | -500 | -910 |
| Sergio Perez | +1000 | -112 | -500 | -770 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1800 | +300 | -182 | -400 |
| George Russell | +2500 | +475 | -125 | -335 |
| Lando Norris | +8000 | +900 | +150 | -225 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +8000 | +1200 | +175 | -167 |
| Esteban Ocon | +13000 | +1600 | +350 | -118 |
| Fernando Alonso | +13000 | +1400 | +175 | -167 |
| Pierre Gasly | +15000 | +1400 | +1400 | -143 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +20000 | +1400 | +325 | -167 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +20000 | +1600 | +300 | -139 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +25000 | +1600 | +400 | -118 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +25000 | +2500 | +1400 | +500 |
| Mick Schumacher | +25000 | +5000 | +1200 | +250 |
| Lance Stroll | +50000 | +10000 | +1400 | +250 |
| Sebastian Vettel | +50000 | +75000 | +6000 | +700 |
| Nicholas Latifi | +70000 | +100000 | +8000 | +800 |
| Alex Albon | +70000 | +100000 | +10000 | +900 |
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Top Pick
Max Verstappen to win (+180)
During the first practices on Friday, we saw the results impacted by the steady rainfall. The rain is expected to continue off and on through the weekend, which should favor Verstappen, who has proven to be adept at driving through those less than ideal conditions. The rain would also limit the speed advantage that Ferrari has seemed to have early in the season since they won’t have a dry track to open up on.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Darkhorse Pick
Lando Norris to finish top six (+180)
Lando qualified fourth in the Australian Grand Prix, and the McLaren cars have generally been improving in pace and performance since the first weekend. Norris also finished on the podium last year in Imola, so he has a strong track record on the course, which should keep him competitive throughout the race. Given Norris’ talents only plus the steady improvement of McLaren, we like Norris to break into the top 6 on Sunday.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings. For more, click here.
