Formula 1 has confirmed that only one 90-minute practice session will be held at Imola when the circuit returns to the championship later this year.
Imola has not featured on the Formula 1 calendar since 2006 but the circuit’s inclusion comes in the wake of the schedule being amended in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Formula 1 has long used the same weekend format at grands prix, with two 90-minute practice sessions on Friday, a one-hour session and three-stage qualifying session on Saturday, with the race on Sunday.
But this format will be re-jigged for Imola’s return, owing to logistical reasons, as well as Formula 1’s desire to experiment with the weekend structure for future seasons.
When Imola’s return was announced it was confirmed that a two-day format would be used and on Tuesday a finalised schedule was issued.
One 90-minute practice session will be held at 10:00 on Saturday prior to qualifying at 14:00, with the race on Sunday.
The two-day weekend will be held across October 31/November 1 and is set to be the third event of the year in Italy, after rounds at Monza and Mugello.
Of the current field only Kimi Raikkonen has experience of a grand prix weekend at Imola, though AlphaTauri pair Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat recently carried out a filming day at the track.
However it won’t be the first time in recent memory that a grand prix has featured only two days of track action – last year’s Japanese Grand Prix took place with running on Friday and Sunday, as all activity on Saturday was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.
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