Imola Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to share press conference duties on Thursday

After a three-week break, Formula 1 travels to Italy for the Imola Grand Prix. As usual, the race weekend kicks off with a virtual press conference on Thursday. On-track action will begin on Friday with FP1 and FP2.

Press conferences are usually scheduled to host teammates together. This is to ensure participants can remain in their respective team bubbles. However, for the Imola Grand Prix, Formula 1 is trying something different. Two drivers will arrive for the press conference at a time and both will be from different teams.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will share press conference duties on Thursday afternoon. The German, who now drives for Aston Martin, has been partnered with his former championship rival, Lewis Hamilton. This could be an exciting dynamic for Formula 1 fans to watch unfold.

Lewis and Seb are in the press conference together on Thursday. RT to let a friend know. 🥰 pic.twitter.com/kksV8gPqeX

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 13, 2021

Elsewhere, Hamilton's current title rival, Max Verstappen, shares media duties with Haas rookie Mick Schumacher. The only teammates that will attend the conference together are the AlphaTauri pair of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda.

Media duties on Thursday will start with Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. Both drivers joined their respective teams at the start of the 2021 season.

Imola Grand Prix Press Conference Lineup

The press conference will start at 2 pm local time (CET).

The following is the line-up for Thursday's press conference at the Imola Grand Prix:

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and George Russell (Williams)

Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) and Nikita Mazepin (Haas)

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lando Norris (McLaren)

Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

Morning all!! Heading into this race weekend quite excited to see how this turns out. Liking that the @fia are playing around with the formats of press conferences. Which pairing are you most excited about? #F1. pic.twitter.com/aDJSkWZIGl

— Jennie Gow (@JennieGow) April 15, 2021

When to watch the Imola Grand Prix?

The Imola Grand Prix race will take place on 18th April 2021, at 15:00 PM local (Central-European) time. The race usually lasts for two hours, barring any yellow or red flags.

For fans in the UK, the race begins at 2 PM BST.

For viewers in the United States, the race will begin at 9 AM Eastern Time.

For fans in India, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix starts at 6:30 PM IST.