It was a thrilling ride. Pierre Gasly described the experience as one of the finest he'd ever had in a Formula 1 vehicle after testing his AlphaTauri AT01 at the circuit ahead of the 2020 season, while Daniil Kvyat said that "an F1 car through turns like Acque Minerali – the entry is so quick, it's so fantastic." It actually pumps up your adrenaline." The anti-clockwise circuit is undoubtedly fast, but it has an old-school feel to it as the drivers put their hearts and souls into legendary corners like the aforementioned Acque Minerali and Piratella.
The outside stand of Acque Minerali is a terrific place to observe an F1 vehicle being pushed to its limits, as the drivers fight to get the cars up to speed for the tight right-hander before flying up the hill to the Variante Alta chicane.
Imola, like Mugello, is in a magnificent corner of the globe, with the Tuscan hills to the south, the Adriatic beaches to the east, and the gourmet pleasures of places like Bologna, Parma, and Modena to the west — as well as Ferrari's HQ in neighboring Maranello, which is an F1 destination. There's also no avoiding the reality that a trip to Imola provides a chance for F1 fans to pay their respects to Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, who died in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.