F1 rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc given two issues to overcome in Imola

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have been warned about two issues facing them at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Pirelli boss Mario Isola expects the track to throw up some problems and believes Verstappen and Leclerc will struggle with a lack of overtaking opportunities this weekend as well as unknowns on their tyre set-up.

Mercedes have struggled to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton in unfamiliar territory of not challenging for race wins. No major upgrades are expected this week, meaning the race at Imola could follow a similar pattern to what has occurred in previous Grands Prix this year.

Most drivers on the grid will be well accustomed to the track with Imola returning to the F1 circuit back in 2020. But last year's race was hampered by heavy rain and regulation changes this year make it a different prospect this time around.

The changes to the cars have helped encourage closer racing on track, but Isola is not sure the race in Italy this weekend will see much overtaking. And he also believes every team will need to "start from scratch" in building a strategy for the race.

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"Imola is an old style and challenging track, overtaking can be difficult also because the circuit is quite narrow in some points," he said. "So a strategy designed to avoid traffic is likely.

"The teams here start from scratch in terms of tyre knowledge, both because the compounds are completely different this year and because the 2021 race was run on wet tyres before the long red flag interruption. In general, Imola is an average severe track for tyres, plus it is used quite often.

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"This means that we could see the track evolve