The San Marino Grand Prix
was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It is called the San Marino Grand Prix because there is already an Italian Grand Prix, and the republic of San Marino is itself too small to host a grand prix. In 1980, the Imola track was used for the 51st Italian Grand Prix.
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SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX TICKETS
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History
The area around Imola is home to several racing car manufacturers - namely
Ferrari,
Lamborghini and
Maserati. Following the
Second World War, the town launched a program to try to improve the local economy. Four local motor racing enthusiasts proposed the construction of a new road linking existing public roads, which could be used by the local car manufacturers to test their prototypes. Construction began in March 1950. The first test run took place two years later when
Enzo Ferrari sent a car to the track.
In April 1953, the first motorcycle races took place at Imola, and the first car race took place in June 1954. In April 1963, the first race with
Formula One cars took place at Imola, as a non-championship event, won by
Jim Clark for
Lotus. A further non-championship event took place at Imola in 1979, which was won by
Niki Lauda for
Brabham-
Alfa Romeo.
In 1980, the
Italian Grand Prix moved from the high-speed
Monza circuit to Imola, as a direct result of 1978's startline pile-up, which claimed the life of the popular
Swedish driver
Ronnie Peterson. It was won by
Nelson Piquet for
Brabham-
Ford. The following year, the Italian Grand Prix returned to Monza, and Imola hosted the newly-launched San Marino Grand Prix, named after the nearby republic of
San Marino.
In 1994, there were three serious accidents at Imola. During Friday Practice,
Rubens Barrichello crashed hard into the fence at the Variante Bassa in which he decelerated violently and was knocked unconscious for a few minutes. There was also the death of
Roland Ratzenberger at the Villeneuve Corner in the Saturday qualifying session, and the death of
Ayrton Senna during the race itself at the 6th-gear Tamburello Corner. As a result, for the 1995 race, the Tamburello and Villeneuve corners were altered from flat-out sweeping bends into slower chicanes, and the Variante Bassa was straightened. It was also the catalyst to changes being made to other circuits, and the sport as a whole, in an attempt to make it safer.
Constructors had complained about the poor quality of the facilities at Imola so, after much talk of dropping the San Marino Grand Prix from the
Formula One championship, especially since there is
another grand prix held in
Italy, on 29 August 2006, the race was excluded from the calendar released for the 2007 season, and has not featured since.
[1]
Winners of the San Marino Grand Prix
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
| Year
| Driver
| Constructor
| Location
| Report
|
| 2006
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2005
| Fernando Alonso
| Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2004
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2003
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2002
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2001
| Ralf Schumacher
| Williams-BMW
| Imola
| Report
|
| 2000
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1999
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1998
| David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1997
| Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1996
| Damon Hill
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1995
| Damon Hill
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1994
| Michael Schumacher
| Benetton-Ford
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1993
| Alain Prost
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1992
| Nigel Mansell
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1991
| Ayrton Senna
| McLaren-Honda
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1990
| Riccardo Patrese
| Williams-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1989
| Ayrton Senna
| McLaren-Honda
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1988
| Ayrton Senna
| McLaren-Honda
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1987
| Nigel Mansell
| Williams-Honda
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1986
| Alain Prost
| McLaren-TAG
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1985
| Elio de Angelis
| Lotus-Renault
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1984
| Alain Prost
| McLaren-TAG
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1983
| Patrick Tambay
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1982
| Didier Pironi
| Ferrari
| Imola
| Report
|
| 1981
| Nelson Piquet
| Brabham-Ford
| Imola
| Report
|
Deaths
- Roland Ratzenberger, died in a crash at Villeneuve Corner during qualifying for the 1994 grand prix.
- Ayrton Senna, died in a crash at Tamburello while leading the race on May 1, 1994.
References
- BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | San Marino loses Grand Prix race