L'Enzo and Dino Ferrari it's a car circuit located in the municipality of Imola pertaining to the metropolitan city of Bologna. The plant was inaugurated in 1953 with the name "CONI Prototype speed car-motorcycle track in Imola”. In 1970 it took on its name “Dino Ferrari Autodrome” in memory of the son of Enzo. Upon the latter's death, in August 1988, his name was added to that of his son, thus bringing the Imola circuit to its current name.
There F1 arrives on the banks of the river Santerno in 1979 on the occasion of Dino Ferrari Grand Prix. Imola, in 1980, hosts the Italian Grand Prix. From the following year it is the theater of all editions of the San Marino Grand Prix, until 2006. Since 2020 it has been home to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
1994 was a moment of rupture considering the dramatic events that marred the three days of San Marino GP. Friday 29 April Rubens Barrichello is the protagonist of a frightening accident at Low variant. The consequences are limited considering the bang. The Brazilian, in fact, only suffered a broken nasal septum and a cracked rib. Saturday 30th the first disaster: the front wing of the Simtek Of Roland Ratzenberger comes loose and the car crashes at the bend Villeneuve. There will be nothing the Austrian driver can do.
On Sunday 1st May one of the most iconographically dramatic moments in the history of F1 takes place: on the 7th lap the Ayrton Senna's Williams comes out straight to Tambourine due to the broken steering column and crashes violently against the wall at the end of the escape route. The Paulista ace is transported to hospital Bologna where he died a few hours later.
After this race the circuit will undergo radical changes to make it safer. First the curve of Tambourine it will be broken by a chicane. Same fate for the Villeneuve in which a variant arose. The section of the was also modified Mineral Waters later composed of two quick bends that abolish the old chicane. This is to introduce a wider escape route. Changes also to Low variant, point at which Barrichello impacted heavily. From these works, what emerged was a route with distorted characteristics, a necessity to continue hosting the top series.
At the end of the 2006 season the FOM excludes Imola from the 2007 and 2008 calendar despite the presence of a contract until 2009. The exclusion is determined by the delay in the modernization works requested by the International Automobile Federation. In addition to this, the political will of the leaders plays a role FOM not to have more than one race held in the same country.
On 19 November 2006 the old pit area was demolished. It is the last decision-making act of the SAGIS, the company that had managed the racetrack for twenty-eight years, which declared bankruptcy in February of the following year. The pit area will be completely rebuilt; the only surviving artifact will be the historic and former Marlboro Tower. The modification works to the route, carried out under the direction of the architect Hermann Tilke, have mainly led to the elimination of Low variant which led to the reconfiguration of the whole layout of that area of the track: between the Rivazza and the Tambourine there is now a sequence of four straights linked together by three fast semi-curves.
The inauguration of the renovated circuit was held on 3 and 4 May 2008. After having obtained the necessary license several times to organize a Formula 1 Grand Prix, in the 2020 season the circuit returns to host a top category race after fourteen years with the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Imola – Italy: numbers and useful information
Address: Piazza Ayrton Senna da Silva, 1, 40026 Imola, Bologna
Telephone: 0524/655111
Capacity: 78,000 spectators
Inauguration year: 1953
Curves: 19
Number of laps in the race:
Circuit length: kilometres
Race distance: kilometres
Lap record
In competition: 1'15″484 – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (2020)
Qualifying: 1'13″609 – Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes (2020)
Imola – Italy: F1 roll of honour
Like Italian Grand Prix
| Year | Pilot | Stable |
| 1980 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
Victories per driver
| Victories | Pilot | Year – Car |
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | 1980 – Brabham |
Victories by team
| Victories | Stable | Year(s)/Pilot |
| 1 | Brabham | 1980/Nelson Piquet |
Like San Marino Grand Prix
| Year | Pilot | Stable |
| 1981 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham |
| 1982 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari |
| 1983 | Patrick Tambay | Ferrari |
| 1984 | Alain Prost | McLaren |
| 1985 | Elio De Angelis | Lotus |
| 1986 | Alain Prost | McLaren |
| 1987 | Nigel Mansell | Williams |
| 1988 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| 1989 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| 1990 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams |
| 1991 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren |
| 1992 | Nigel Mansell | Williams |
| 1993 | Alain Prost | Williams |
| 1994 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton |
| 1995 | Damon Hill | Williams |
| 1996 | Damon Hill | Williams |
| 1997 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams |
| 1998 | David Coulthard | McLaren |
| 1999 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 2000 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 2001 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams |
| 2002 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 2003 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 2004 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 2005 | Fernando Alonso | Renault |
| 2006 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
Imola – Italy: victories for Pilota
| Victories | Pilot | Year/Car |
| 7 | Michael Schumacher | 1994/Benetton – 1999/Ferrari – 2000/Ferrari – 2002/Ferrari – 2003/Ferrari – 2004/Ferrari – 2006/Ferrari |
| 3 | Alain Prost | 1984/McLaren – 1986/McLaren – 1993/Williams |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | 1988/McLaren – 1989/McLaren – 1991/McLaren |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell | 1987/Williams – 1992/Williams |
| 2 | Damon Hill | 1995/Williams – 1996/Williams |
| 1 | Nelson Piquet | 1981/Brabham |
| 1 | Didier Pironi | 1982/Ferrari |
| 1 | Patrick Tambay | 1983/Ferrari |
| 1 | Elio De Angelis | 1985/Lotus |
| 1 | Riccardo Patrese | 1990/Williams |
| 1 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 1997/Williams |
| 1 | David Coulthard | 1998/McLaren |
| 1 | Ralf Schumacher | 2001/Williams |
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 2005/Renault |
Imola – Italy: victories by Team
| Victories | Stable | Year(s)/Pilot |
| 8 | Ferrari | 1982/Didier Pironi – 1983/Patrick Tambay – 1999/Michael Schumacher – 2000/Michael Schumacher – 2002/Michael Schumacher – 2003/Michael Schumacher – 2004/Michael Schumacher – 2006/Michael Schumacher |
| 8 | Williams | 1987/Nigel Mansell – 1990/Riccardo Patrese – 1992/Nigel Mansell – 1993/Alain Prost – 1995/Damon Hill – 1996/Damon Hill – 1997/Heinz-Harald Frentzen – 2001/Ralf Schumacher |
| 6 | McLaren | 1984/Alain Prost – 1986/Alain Prost – 1988/Ayrton Senna – 1989/Ayrton Senna – 1991/Ayrton Senna – 1998/David Coulthard |
| 1 | Brabham | 1981/Nelson Piquet |
| 1 | Lotus | 1985/Elio De Angelis |
| 1 | Benetton | 1994/Michael Schumacher |
| 1 | Renault | 2005/Fernando Alonso |
As the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
| Year | Pilot | Stable |
| 2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2021 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2023 | Cancelled[53] | |
Victories per driver
| Victories | Pilot | Year(s)/Car |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | 2021/Red Bull – 2022/Red Bull |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 2020/Mercedes |
Victories by team
| Victories | Stable | Year(s)/Pilot |
| 2 | Red Bull | 2021/Max Verstappen – 2022/Max Verstappen |
| 1 | Mercedes | 2020/Lewis Hamilton |
Photo credits: F1