2025 Imola Grand Prix in Imola - F1 Fantasy Race Preview, Strategy and Analysis

Euan Leith's preview of the 2025 Imola Grand Prix for F1 Fantasy includes weather updates, differentials for your squads, and predictions for the sprint race, qualifying, and the Grand Prix.

Happy Imola Grand Prix, RotoBallers! The F1 grid bids farewell to the Imola Grand Prix this weekend as it likely won't be on the 2026 calendar. Let's hope for some fantastic racing at a notoriously challenging track.

The deadline for the Imola Grand Prix in F1 Fantasy is Saturday, May 17, at 9 a.m. EDT, when Qualifying starts. Also, check out the rest of our excellent DFS racing coverage to get you through every NASCAR and Formula 1 race.

Want to build a winning fantasy F1 lineup? Check out our How To Play F1 Fantasy (Formula 1): Overview Guide, Tips, Chips, and Rules for all the essential tips and strategies to get you started on the right foot.

Join our 2025 F1 Fantasy League

That's right! We are putting our reputations on the line and creating an F1 Fantasy League for the 2025 season. If you go to the Leagues tab on the F1 Fantasy home page, you'll find our league in the Featured Leagues tab. Simply click 'Join League' and you will be set for 2025.

We've also got this shiny banner to stand out! Use code P1JOTPHDW09 to join the 2025 league!

Previous Imola Grand Prix Winners

• 2024: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
• 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
• 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
• 2020: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

*The Grand Prix was canceled in 2023 due to flooding in the area.

Imola Grand Prix Schedule

Friday, May 16

• Practice 1: 7:30 a.m. EDT
• Practice 2: 11:00 a.m. EDT

Saturday, May 17

• Practice 3: 6:30 a.m. EDT
• Qualifying: 10:00 a.m. EDT (***F1 Fantasy lineup lock***)

Sunday, May 18

• Race: 9:00 a.m. EDT

European Summer = 🔛

All eyes on Imola for Round 07 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/fC496RSikI

— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) May 14, 2025

Imola Grand Prix Weather

This area of Italy often experiences temperamental weather at this time of year, and it looks like the 2025 edition of this race will be no different. The current weather forecast indicates a 2% chance of rain on Sunday afternoon, but this can change rather quickly.

Imola Grand Prix Predictions

Qualifying

1. Lando Norris, McLaren
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Race

1. Lando Norris, McLaren
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Max Verstappen, Red Bull

F1 Fantasy Driver Swap: Franco Colapinto Returns

Guess who's back? Franco Colapinto returns to the F1 grid after Alpine swapped him in favor of Jack Doohan. While it feels harsh on Doohan after only six races of the season, he didn't have any performances to earn him the seat. Unfortunately, F1 is a results-based business, and the French outfit is ready to see what their Argentinian driver can bring to the 2025 car.

The latest driver change is now LIVE in F1 Fantasy! 👋

Franco Colapinto joins the game as a NEW asset - if Jack Doohan is in your line-up, you must remove him to avoid points penalties in future rounds 🔀

Manage your team here: https://t.co/VkhwFZMfn6#F1Fantasy pic.twitter.com/zFAlCQZRlA

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 12, 2025

The expectations shouldn't be set too high for Colapinto. However, he will be a very popular F1 Fantasy asset. The 21-year-old speedster comes in at the minimum price of $4.5 million, and this means he will only need six points in Imola for a maximum ($0.6m) price rise.

Due to the madness in Miami, many B-tier drivers (<$19.0m) are set to fall in price. Strategists can't afford this at such a crucial time of the season, and it turns Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto into popular picks because they can't fall any further in price.

Upgrade Season

With the Imola Grand Prix officially kicking off the European portion of the 2025 F1 season, it's time for teams to bring updates to the car. However, due to the new set of regulations on the horizon for 2026, teams may not prioritize the current season over the upcoming rule change campaign.

Not every team will bring an update to Imola, but it'll likely be over the next few weeks, with Spain being the final race of this upcoming triple header. Keep an eye on the timing pages to see if any of the 10 teams take a surprising leap up the grid after bringing new toys to their cars.

F1 Fantasy Chip Strategy

If you avoided the string of DNFs in Miami and sit in a position where several assets will either rise or remain the same price, there could be some options for you in the F1 Fantasy chip department for the Imola Grand Prix.

Limitless

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a low-overtake track. Over the last three seasons, it has had the second-fewest overtakes per race. If F1 Fantasy strategists can pin down the best five drivers and two primary constructors, it could turn into a massive delta in points between the non-Limitless teams and Limitless-using squads.

Auto Pilot

We haven't had a chance to talk about the Auto Pilot chip too much in 2025, but the Imola Grand Prix could be the first spot we see some F1 Fantasy strategists utilize the chip. Some teams out there (mine included) are looking at bringing in Kick Sauber as a constructor. This provides teams with sufficient funds to pair Lando Norris with Oscar Piastri.

If teams go that route, the Auto Pilot chip should be in play because the margin between the two McLaren drivers is incredibly thin. The game will select the best fantasy asset from the weekend and automatically apply the DRS Boost on that driver.

F1 Fantasy Drivers to Target and Avoid

Drivers to Target (A Tier, >$19.0m)

• Oscar Piastri, McLaren
• Lando Norris, McLaren

Drivers to Avoid (A Tier, >$19.0m)

• Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
• Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Drivers to Target (B Tier, <$19.0m)

• Franco Colapinto, Alpine
• Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
• Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber
• Alex Albon, Williams

Drivers to Avoid (B Tier, <$19.0m)

• Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull
• Ollie Bearman, Haas
• Pierre Gasly, Alpine
• Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
• Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

☢️Toxic Assets in F1 Fantasy for the Imola GP☢️

Barring massive performances this weekend, the following drivers and constructors are set to fall in price for #F1Fantasy at the #ImolaGP

🅰️Tier Assets
- Leclerc
- Antonelli

Leclerc needs 27 points to avoid a max price fall…

— Euan Leith (@F1FantasyEuan) May 15, 2025

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