TEE
A tougher test for Verstappen with more yet to come?
It wasn’t a classic, at least not for the first hour. But if a race can be judged on the finish, then the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was one of the better Formula 1 events of 2024 so far.
As Jake Boxall-Legge shows in our report (p14), a combination of Red Bull getting its sums slightly wrong on the hard tyre, McLaren’s new-found pace, and some fine work by Lando Norris made the final stages at Imola tense. Yes, Max Verstappen won again, but this time he really had to work for it. Given the team’s struggles last Friday and Sergio Perez’s performance, was this one of Verstappen’s better wins?
The upgraded Ferrari SF-24 (see p25) also wasn’t too far behind. The next stop is Monaco, where home hero Charles Leclerc has previously scored two superb poles but not had the luck. It’s a race that can throw up strange events and results, so hopefully Ferrari and McLaren can challenge Verstappen again this weekend.
It’s been a long time since Williams has featured at the front and it remains point-less in 2024. Nevertheless, work continues apace behind the scenes, as team boss James Vowles explains on p36.
This Sunday is one of the biggest in the motorsport year because, after the Monaco GP, the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place. Despite all its recent controversy, Penske qualified 1-2-3 (p4) and there are plenty of other storylines to look out for. Joey Barnes is your guide to America’s greatest race on p42.
Look out for our extensive reports on the Monaco GP and Indy 500, as well as British Touring Cars and Formula E, in next week’s issue.
Kevin Turner Chief Editor
kevin.turner@autosport.com
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PIT & PADDOCK 4 Penske sweeps front row for Indy 500 6 Ferrari tight-lipped on Newey talk 8 F3 aces get McLaren deals – and disasters 11 Monaco Grand Prix preview 12 Opinion: Alex Kalinauckas 13 Guest column: Trevor Carlin
RACE CENTRE 14 Emilia Romagna GP report and analysis 30 World of Sport: Formula 2; Formula 3;
GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup; Porsche Supercup; Super Formula; Australian Supercars; NASCAR All-Star
FEATURES 36 What’s happened to the Williams revival? 42 Indianapolis 500 preview
CLUB AUTOSPORT 53 New Sprint Challenge Cayman 54 Silverstone GP event for smaller clubs 56 Higgins emulates Pond in TR7 on Manx 59 Opinion: Stephen Lickorish 60 National reports: Silverstone; Snetterton;
Thruxton; Oulton Park; Mallory Park; Bishopscourt; Cadwell Park; Pembrey
FINISHING STRAIGHT 70 What’s on this week 72 From the archive: 1997 Super Touring Cup 74 My favourite car: Al Unser Jr
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23 MAY 2024 AUTOSPORT.COM 3
