Weekend tips: Formula 1 in Imola and much more 🎥

The forecast changeable weather does not invite much to stay outside. All the better, then, that there is plenty of interesting racing to be consumed on TV and live streaming on the Internet this weekend. We list what can be seen where, when and how.

First upgraded Formula 1 sprint race in 2022 before a Grand Prix
Formula 1 returns to Europe for the fourth round of the World Championship. Imola will also be the first of three planned sprint races, with the other two taking place in Austria and Brazil. Qualifying will therefore be moved to Friday afternoon after only one free practice session.

This will determine the starting grid for the 100km sprint race on Saturday afternoon, which will take place after the second practice session. Its finish will decide the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. Also, the top 8 in the sprint now receive World Championship points (8, 7, 6, etc.) and no longer the top three.

First Ferrari home game in front of many fans
After Imola moved to the calendar as a substitute venue in 2020 and was also held as a scheduled race without a crowd last year, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari will resemble a madhouse this weekend. Scuderia Ferrari leads the drivers' championship with two-time season winner Charles Leclerc and the constructors' championship with the points of Carlos Sainz (who was allowed to extend his contract until 2024 in the run-up to the race).

Alfa Romeo Sauber fans can also hope for more championship points from Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou thanks to the obviously stronger drive from Maranello.

TV premiere of Nico Müller
Swiss television will report on Friday from 4.55 to 6.20 p.m. on SRF zwei from the qualifying for the sprint race. This will be broadcast on Saturday from 4 to 5:10 p.m. on SRF info.

The GP Emilia Romagna will then be broadcast again on Sunday from 2.50 p.m. on SRF zwei. On all three days, professional racing driver Nico Müller will make his debut as a commentator.

Supercup debut of Alexander Fach
As part of Formula 1, the Porsche Supercup also starts its 30th racing season - at the same venue as in 1993. Swiss fans are keeping their fingers crossed above all for Team Fach Auto Tech and its three drivers. For Porsche Cup Suisse champion Alexander Fach, it means his debut in the top-class one-make cup, which we have already referred to several times.

Due to the live broadcasts of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Eurosport 1, the Supercup on the same free sports channel will not take its turn until Monday at 12 noon.

Ricardo Feller starts to defend title in German GT Championship
At the ADAC GT Masters season opener at Oschersleben, Ricardo Feller will compete as the defending champion. However, the number 1 car on the Audi R8 will be adorned by his last year's champion partner Christopher Mies. Mies and the soon-to-be 22-year-old from Aargau have been assigned new teammates at Land Motorsport, in Feller's case it's the German Jusuf Owega.

Meanwhile, Patric Niederhauser has returned to Rutronik Racing, with whom "Nidi" captured the title in 2019. The third Swiss in the GT bunch is Raffaele Marciello on Mercedes-AMG. New to the field of teams with a total of 23 GT3 sports cars is Emil Frey Racing with its three Lamborghini Huracáns.

All ADAC GT Masters races in 2022 will start at 1 p.m.. The TV station NITRO presents them live from 12:30 p.m. each day, and they can also be watched live on RTL+.

GT4 premiere by Born and TCR debut by Maurer
In the supporting program, the ADAC GT4 Germany will start with a record field of 30 cars. The defending champions are the Swiss-flagged Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport team with two BMW M4 GT4s.

The only Swiss GT4 driver this year is newcomer Miklas Born on a Mercedes from Schnitzelalm Racing (gallery right). After TCR and GT3, GT4 is a new affordable field for the talented 20-year-old from Basel. Race 1 over 60 minutes starts on Saturday at 15:35, race 2 on Sunday at 14:40.

Maurer Motorsport is making its debut in the ADAC TCR Germany with two Holden Astra TCR cars from Australia. These are driven by Michael Maurer, the son of the team boss, and the Belgian Vincent Radermecker (gallery left). Race 1 starts on Saturday at 2:40 p.m., Race 2 on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

The races of the frame race series and the qualifying sessions of the ADAC GT Masters are available free of charge in the livestream on sport.com as well as under adac.de/motorsport to see.

Second battle at the Nürburgring
160 teams will start the second endurance race of the year at the Nürburgring on Saturday at 12 noon. Around two dozen drivers from Switzerland are expected at the start, including four plus one team in the GT3 king class SP9 Pro. They are Philip Ellis and Manuel Metzger on two different Mercedes as well as the Zurich team Octane 126 with its Ferrari 488, which Jonathan Hirschi and Simon Trummer share with the Germans Grossmann and Ludwig.

The elaborately produced livestream is available on the YouTube channel the VLN and on the Homepage to see. The broadcast will start before practice at 8:15 a.m. and end with the award ceremony at approximately 4:30 p.m.

Jasmin Preisig attacks with Wolf power
Almost simultaneously, the third race of the 24H Series season will start in neighboring Belgium. The only Swiss contenders for victory in the field of over 40 touring car and GT teams at the 12H Spa-Francorchamps are Daniel Allemann in a Porsche GT3 and Jasmin Preisig with Fabian Danz in the Audi RS3 LMS TCR from Wolf-Power Racing in the touring cars.

Part 1 of the twelve hours of racing will be completed on Saturday from 12:25 p.m. to 5:55 p.m., and Part 2 on Sunday from 11:20 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. They can be seen in their entirety on the YouTube channel of the series.