F1 Returns to Europe, Hamilton and Russel Are Set to Keep up With Ferrari and Red Bull

Since the early days of F1, Ferrari has won 16 World Constructor Championships. Williams has scored 9 titles, while McLaren and Mercedes are tied for 3rd with a total of 8 victories. Red Bull Racing is further down the field after securing 4 titles between 2010 to 2013.

Looking at individual driver results, Ferrari is still first, with 15 titles. McLaren is second with 12, Mercedes comes in third with 9, and Red Bull is down in sixth with 5 driver titles. Looking at the dynamics of the competition, things might just be at a turning point.

Ferrari is off to an excellent start of the season, with Charles Leclerc leading the championship after the first three races and Carlos Sainz down in third. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are currently sitting in fourth and sixth for Red Bull.

George Russell is performing as expected, as he's second in the overall standings. Lewis Hamilton still has unlocked potential to work with, as he's fifth overall. The fourth round of the season is just around the corner, and the teams are ready for the first day of competition in Italy.

Imola Circuit is 3.05 miles (4.909 km) long, and Lewis Hamilton still holds the Race Lap Record since 2020, when he clocked in at 1:15.484. But the absolute lap record was set by his former teammate Valtteri Bottas, with a time of 1:13.609.

Understanding the layout of the track is as easy as watching an onboard POV video of Lewis Hamilton in his car. According to official stats, drivers spend about 71% of the lap time at full throttle. If that's not an impressive mix of courage and skill, I don't know what is.

In 2021, Lewis Hamilton took P1 in the qualifying session but ended up crossing the finish line after Max Verstappen. George Russell was involved in a massive incident with Valtteri Bottas, which rendered both drivers unable to finish the race. Looking back at 2020, Hamilton won the Emilia Romagna GP, while George Russell crashed while driving behind the Safety Car.

The 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow, and according to Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team principal Toto Wolff, this isn't going to be an easy race for the Silver Arrows. After the first practice session of the weekend, drivers will have to go directly to qualifying.

There's a second practice session on Saturday, and then we'll get to see the Sprint Race. The main event starts Sunday at 3 PM (CET). It feels like the action is heating up in F1 once again, and it is certainly difficult to make any pre-race predictions at this point.