Know more about the Tamburello corner of the Imola Circuit. [Credits: X/ Williams F1]

What is Tamburello Corner at the Imola Circuit? 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Circuit Explained!

Here's what you need to know about the famed Tamburello corner of tbe track.

Know more about the Tamburello corner of the Imola Circuit. [Credits: X/ Williams F1]

Imola Circuit is going to witness racing action in 2025 this week. The circuits borrows its name from Ferrari’s founder Enzo Ferrari and his son, Dino Ferrari. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is going to place at the Imola from Friday, May 16-18. The 63 lap event will take the drivers through an exhilarating ride around its 17 corners. Drivers and fans will also pay homage to drivers, Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna. They lost their lives at the Imola Circuit during 1994 San Marino Grand Prix weekend.

As Formula 1 prepares to hit the tarmac for the first time at Imola in 2025, a very iconic name pops up in front of Formula 1 fans. The Tamburello- it is a name which is deeply rooted in the history of Formula 1. For the fist time Formula 1 fans, it might become confusing when Tamburello is mentioned again and again. Let’s find out more about the famous Imola Circuit corner.

Imola is one of the few anti-clockwise tracks on the schedule @LandoNorris explains the differences 🏎️

📹 via: @McLarenF1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/a1YNp8mz4H
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) May 16, 2025

What is the Tamburello Corner of the Imola Circuit?

The turns 2-3-4 are together know as the Variante Tamburello Chicane of the track. These turns became a part of the track after the horrific 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The chicane aims to make the tight corner safer for drivers to navigate with lower speeds. In order to know more about the corner, we need to decode the changes that were made to it.

Also Read: Exploring Imola Circuit- History, Length, Type, Turns and More!

Originally, Variante Tamburello was a tight right-hander after the very first corner of the track. It provides high speeds and bumpy rides. The track was incredibly narrow at this corner. A concrete wall with no tyre barriers was the only obstacle between this corner and the Santerno river beside it. This led to numerous crashes and driver incidents. The Imola Circuit became famous for the Tamburello corner ever since its first Formula 1 race in 1980.

🔴 RED FLAG 🔴

Hadjar has got stuck in the gravel after coming off at the Tamburello chicane #F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/iKxlbxAfXL
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 16, 2025

Notable Crashes at the Tamburello Corner

The Tamburello corner has seen many driver crashes during the track’s history in Formula 1 racing. In 1987, Nelson Piquet went into the barriers at extreme speeds crashing out his car. Gerhard Berger found himself in a tragic situation in 1989 at the same corner. A front wing failure drove Berger’s Ferrari into the barrier at 300 km/h. The impact was so terrible that fire broke out in his car. In 1991, it Michael Alboreto who found himself crashing at Tamburello. The following year, Riccardo Patrese also crashed at Tamburello while testing for Williams.

Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger 💔

Never forgotten #F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/iE6Dij6bKH
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 15, 2025

However, among all these crashes, one remains the most iconic and emotional crash. Ayrton Senna is the first and only Formula 1 driver to lose his life to the Tamburello corner. In 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix race, Senna hit the curbs and his car went straight into the concrete wall. The impact of the crash was enough to kill him on the spot.

Senna and his fellow driver, Roland Ratzenberger died in 1994 at Imola. It was their deaths which led modifications in the Tamburello corner. The fast right-hander is now a left-right-left chicane.

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Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.