'Checo' Pérez, for his first podium in the Emilia Romagna GP; the sprint race returns

The fourth date on the Formula 1 calendar in its 2022 season is about to be played. The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix makes its appearance for the third year in the top category of motorsport and the Mexican Sergio Pérez is likely to win his first podium on the circuit.

After the previous year, Checo was out of the top ten places, the chances that this trend will change is high, because during the races that the driver has finished in the current championship, he scored in all of them (in Bahrain he did not finish because he abandoned after failures in his car).

“It's been a tough few days in Australia for the team, but for me it was another consistent weekend, after my pole and fourth place in Jeddah. All this comes from a good performance in the standings, which will now be on Friday and I hope to hook him up again in Italy,” he said prior to the start of activities in Italy.

In 2020, still a member of Racing Point, the Mexican won sixth position in the race after recovering five positions on the track (he started eleventh). Which earned him eight points in the Drivers' World Championship.

The most recent edition, Pérez did what had been his best ranking so far, starting from the front line by getting the second fastest time in the Saturday session. However, after a crashed Grand Prix with more than one incident, Checo finished out of the top ten places. The driver lost control of his car during a corner and went off the track.

It is then that the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari under the name Emilia-Romagna will be an appointment for the third consecutive year in the Grand Circus calendar. The formation of the event arose from the need to look for viable places to run when the Covid-19 pandemic caused several races to be canceled in 2020. Now, the Grand Prix is confirmed until 2024.

For the one born in Jalisco, the season has gone from less to more. Australia represented the strongest race for the driver who was not affected by situations beyond his control, allowing him to take second place only behind Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. His balance so far is one eighteenth place, one fourth and one second.

“I'm happy with my performance so far and getting on the podium for the first time this season in Melbourne was a step in the right direction, but I won't stop there, I need and want to be there weekly for the team and myself. We're back to the sprint format this weekend and my goal is to get as many points as possible,” said Pérez.

The sprint race format is a new modality that the Formula 1 management has launched since last season. It consists of a short race (100 kilometers) that in turn serves to define the starting points for Sunday. The usual qualifying session takes place on Friday, instead of Saturday.

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