Can under pressure Ferrari respond? Five key questions ahead of F1 Emilia Romagna GP

After six flyaway races to kick off 2025, F1 finally heads to Europe for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. 

With four wins from the opening six grands prix this season, championship leader Oscar Piastri holds a 16-point advantage over McLaren teammate Lando Norris entering what promises to be a crucial run of races starting at Imola.

Here are some of the biggest talking points as F1 begins a European triple header…

Can Ferrari respond at home?

Ferrari head into their first of two home races this year under massive pressure following a woeful start to the season.

The Italian outfit dropped another stinker last time out in Miami as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could only finish seventh and eighth in the latest lacklustre performance from F1’s most iconic and successful team.

Ferrari made headlines for the wrong reasons as they hesitated over a team orders call which infuriated Hamilton and left the seven-time world champion engaging in a sassy team radio dispute, and telling team boss Fred Vasseur not to “be so sensitive”.

The Scuderia are set to start introducing major updates to their car from Imola in a bid to turn around their poor start to 2025 and help Hamilton make some much-needed progress in his adaption, which has so far proven to be frustrating.

If there was a perfect time for a Ferrari response, it would be on home soil.

Will Oscar Piastri underline his early status?

There is no doubt that the upcoming run of three races on the trot will be pivotal in shaping how the 2025 F1 title battle will play out over the remainder of the campaign.

With teams set to bring a host of new upgrades for the crucial European leg of the season, those fighting at the front of the grid will be looking to make their mark in a flurry of grands prix which are set to play a huge role in the championship narrative. There is also uncertainty over how a looming technical clampdown on flexi-wings in Barcelona will impact the competitive order.

Piastri has already built a comfortable buffer over Norris and has three wins more than his teammate, though he knows he cannot afford to relax. The McLaren pair are threatening to pull clear of the chasing Max Verstappen and George Russell (32 and 38 points back respectively) after a dominant showing in Miami and will be looking to strengthen their position across the Imola-Monaco-Barcelona triple header.

Piastri has already shown plenty of signs that he is capable and ready to fight for a maiden world title, but the Australian now has a real opportunity to underline his status as the championship favourite and in doing so could force McLaren’s hand into making an early decision to back him over Norris.

How will Franco Colapinto fare on return?

Franco Colapinto makes his return to the F1 grid this weekend, having replaced Jack Doohan, who has been brutally demoted to Alpine reserve driver after failing to score a single point across the first six races of the season.

Colapinto had been linked with Doohan’s seat since he joined Alpine in January and will now get his chance to impress alongside Pierre Gasly following a surprise and eye-catching cameo for Williams late last year.

There is immediate pressure on Colapinto’s shoulders, however. The 21-year-old Argentine has only been confirmed for the next five races and three of them come thick and fast. Colapinto hasn’t raced for five months and won’t have the luxury of time to bed in and adapt to Alpine. He will have to get up to speed quickly during an intense and challenging triple header.

Colapinto will be determined to prove himself to not only secure the seat for the rest of the season, but also to put himself in the frame for a full-time drive with the French squad in 2026.

It will also be interesting to see how Oliver Oakes’ sudden and unexpected departure is felt at Alpine, with executive advisor Flavio Briatore effectively taking over the position as team principal for the foreseeable future.

Does Italy have a new star?

Kimi Antonelli will contest his first F1 race in Italy since making his debut with Mercedes this weekend.

Imola really is Antonelli’s home race. The 18-year-old rookie was born down the road from the venue in Bologna and has visited the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit on many occasions. Antonelli is making waves early in his F1 career and became the youngest driver to take a pole position in the sprint at the Miami Grand Prix last time out. 

Amid Ferrari’s floundering start to 2025, Antonelli could give the home crowd something to cheer about.

Goodbye to Imola?

Imola has remained part of the F1 calendar since the classic track returned in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc to the world championship’s schedule.

But 2025 marks the final year of its current deal and all the signs are pointing towards it dropping off the calendar for 2026. Stefano Domenicali, who hails from Imola, has indicated his home race is set to disappear with Italy unlikely to retain two grands prix on a bulging 24-round schedule.

As such, this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is poised to spell an end to Imola as a grand prix venue - for the time being at least.