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A lap of Imola with Button

Renault's Jenson Button takes us round a lap of Imola, home of the San Marino Gran Prix. "A lap here starts with hard acceleration from the final corner and even on the short pit straight, I will reach around 300kmh in top gear, before braking for ...

Renault's Jenson Button takes us round a lap of Imola, home of the San Marino Gran Prix.

"A lap here starts with hard acceleration from the final corner and even on the short pit straight, I will reach around 300kmh in top gear, before braking for the first chicane. The left-hand part of the first chicane is taken at 130kmh in third gear, the second right-hand part is much quicker and I will reach full throttle briefly before turning to the right at around 165kmh."

"From here, I will again push hard on the acceleration reaching 290kmh in top gear, before braking for the slightly unusual second chicane. I will turn into the first part of this while still on the brakes, hitting the first apex at around 200kmh in fourth gear, before braking again for the second part and changing down to third gear, taking the apex at around 155kmh. I will then reach around 240 kmh in fourth gear before having to decelerate down to second gear and 80kmh for Tosa."

"After this corner the acceleration feels a bit slow as I am travelling uphill, and I will reach over 280kmh in fifth gear, prior to the difficult Piratella corner which is taken in third gear at 165kmh. What makes this corner difficult is the fact that it drops away, leading into the downhill section towards Acque Minerali, where I reach about 280kmh in fifth gear."

"I take the first part of the corner at 230kmh in fourth gear and then prepare to brake hard again into second gear and 112kmh for the second right-hand corner. After this corner I once again have to climb up the hill towards Variante Alta, reaching 280kmh in fifth gear before taking this chicane. Although I will hold third gear all the way through this chicane, the first part is considerably faster at about 165kmh, while the second part is taken at less than 140kmh."

"Again I drop down the hill towards Rivazza, reaching around 300kmh in sixth gear, and this can sometimes be the fastest part of the circuit, depending on the wind direction. Braking for this corner is very difficult, as I have to come right down to 105kmh in second gear, and the hard braking is made even more tricky by the fact that the track is sloping downhill at this point. Through this corner I will grab third gear to take the second Variante at around 125kmh."

"I will then accelerate up to fifth gear and 280kmh, before approaching the final chicane in second gear, with the first part at just under 95kmh and the second part just over. This then leads me back to the start/finish line."

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