Max Verstappen scored his second race victory of this highly competitive Formula 1 season at Imola, finishing ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
This was Red Bull Racing’s 400th race and the key to Super Max’s win was on the opening lap as Verstappen was late on the brakes to pass both George Russell and Oscar Piastri heading into Turn 1 on the first lap.
From second on the grid Verstappen attacked Piastri into the first braking zone of Tamburello, going late on the brakes around the outside to sweep past the championship leader with a brilliant move.
In Verstappen’s wake Piastri decided to stop early for what was expected to be a one-stop race, exchanging his medium tyres for hards on lap 14.
A similarly early pitstop for third-starting George Russell also released Lando Norris into clear air, with the driver 10 seconds behind Verstappen at that stage.
Red Bull’s tyre wear appeared more promising than expected, with Verstappen shipping two to three tenths per lap to the chasing McLaren, which was not enough of a pace difference to worry the leading defending champion.
But the race then received a first plot twist on lap 29 with a virtual safety car for the stricken Haas of Esteban Ocon, who parked up between the Variante Alta and Rivazza.
The VSC situation massively benefitted those who hadn’t pitted yet, including Verstappen. Norris had crucially come in the previous lap, losing out in the process.
As the race went green again on lap 31, Verstappen’s lead had grown to 20 seconds, with Alexander Albon also benefitting to move up to third ahead of Piastri.
Norris was unable to gain back more than two seconds on Verstappen, while Piastri swiftly moved up to third but was already falling over 12 seconds behind his teammate.
The stalemate didn’t last, however, with another pivotal interruption on lap 47 when Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired from eighth position, this time bringing out a full safety car.
Verstappen pitted for a second set of hard tyres, as did Norris. Piastri stayed out, splitting the pair for the final ten lap shootout as the field was released on Lap 54.
On fresher tyres Norris made quick work of his McLaren teammate, but he was unable to stop Verstappen from marching to a second win of the 2025 season, while Piastri settled for third.
On split strategies the Ferraris produced a combative display following a disastrous qualifying session that saw Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton P11 and P12 on the grid.
Both made a good start, but Leclerc looked set to lose out under the first VSC situation, only to then be brought back into the race by staying out under the late safety car.
Leclerc ultimately failed to keep fourth on his older tyres, first shoving Albon off the road into Tamburello, which saw Albon lose out to the pursuing Hamilton as well.
Hamilton did pass Leclerc, who was then told to let Albon through in order to avoid any potential five-second penalty for the earlier incident. The Ferrari driver finished sixth behind the Williams driver.
Russell was another driver to lose out on strategy, although the high tyre wear didn’t help matters as the Mercedes driver started on the mediums he used in qualifying.
Sainz was eighth to complete a double points finish for Williams, followed by Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar. After a violent crash in qualifying, Yuki Tsunoda produced a spirited drive and made a one-stopper work to climb to P10.
Aston Martin was the afternoon’s biggest loser, with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll dropping out of the points after a tyre gamble which allowed the pair to shine in qualifying, but saw them lacking a crucial set of hard tyres for the safety-car-interrupted event.
So a good, entertaining race at Imola and Piastri remains in the lead of the championship, heading Norris by 13 points and Verstappen by 22.
The Formula 1 paddock now heads down to Monaco for the second part of a European triple-header. Will be interesting if McLaren can strike back at the iconic street circuit.
Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, race results:
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:31:33.199
2 Lando Norris McLaren +6.109s
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren +12.956s
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +14.356s
5 Alexander Albon Williams +17.945s
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +20.774s
7 George Russell Mercedes +22.034s
8 Carlos Sainz Williams +22.898s
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +23.586s
10 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull +26.446s
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +27.250s
12 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +30.296s
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +31.424s
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +32.511s
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +32.993s
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine +33.411s
17 Oliver Bearman Haas +33.808s
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +38.572s
Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes DNF
Esteban Ocon Haas DNF
Max Verstappen has surged to an impressive second victory of the season at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the Dutchman having snatched P1 at the start before holding his position ahead of the McLaren pair in an eventful afternoon that featured Virtual Safety Car and full Safety Car phases.
The race got underway in exciting fashion as polesitter Oscar Piastri initially launched well off the line – only for Verstappen to make a stunning overtake through the Tamburello chicane, resulting in the World Champion going on to build a lead in the laps that followed.
Piastri then joined a number of drivers who made an early pit stop, having stopped for the hard compound on Lap 14, but the call did not seem to work out for the Australian, with Verstappen staying out on track to further extend his advantage in first place.
As questions persisted over whether a one-stop or two-stop strategy was the way forward – with around half of the field remaining out following that earlier flurry of action in the pits for the other half – the picture was turned on its head when a Virtual Safety Car was called on Lap 29 after Esteban Ocon pulled onto the grass in the Haas.
This allowed for those who had yet to stop to visit the pits without losing much time – and this most crucially included Verstappen, who pitted before emerging back on track with a staggering lead of around 20s from Norris in P2.
But there was more drama to come later on when a Safety Car was deployed owing to Kimi Antonelli pulling off track on Lap 46 due to an issue with his Mercedes, allowing Verstappen to stop again – as did Norris, while the other McLaren of Piastri did not, raising questions over whether the papaya team would opt to let the Briton move ahead of his team mate upon the restart.
The restart was executed flawlessly by Verstappen, who went on to clinch a fourth consecutive win at Imola in Red Bull’s 400th Grand Prix start – while, six seconds behind him, Norris had overtaken Piastri for P2, with the Australian then doing enough to hold off Lewis Hamilton behind him in fourth following a solid recovery drive for Ferrari after their Qualifying woes.
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-storms-to-victory-in-thrilling-emilia-romagna-grand-prix-ahead-of.4YJG3CyQJdFzCI6tiBtqoU
Oscar Piastri has admitted that he “braked too early” allowing Max Verstappen to snatch the lead from the McLaren driver on the opening lap of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the Red Bull driver going on to take a dominant victory.
The Australian started on pole for Sunday’s race and held the lead off the line on the run to the first braking zone at the Tamburello chicane, with fellow front-row starter Verstappen side-by-side with P3-starter George Russell.
But sensationally, Verstappen sent his Red Bull to the outside of Piastri into the braking zone, squeezing the McLaren driver to the apex of the left turn before jumping into the lead through the following right.
“I just braked too early, it was a good move by Max as well,” said Piastri after finishing third, cutting his Drivers’ Championship lead to just 13 points over team mate Lando Norris.
“It’s disappointing obviously, but I think we made a few wrong calls after that anyway. Not our best Sunday, so definitely a lot of things to look at and review from that one.
“Well done to Max and Red Bull. It was a good move, but also they had pace today. We’ll look back on that one and see what we can do a bit better.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/piastri-concedes-he-braked-too-early-in-battle-with-verstappen-at-imola-race.7EgJZ87SR1uV8KyVfA9vKn
Max Verstappen expressed his pride and satisfaction after a statement drive to victory during Sunday’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix set up by an audacious move on Oscar Piastri at the start of the race.
Red Bull driver Verstappen was pipped to pole position by Piastri in Qualifying but brilliantly out-braked his McLaren rival and swept around the outside of him at the first corner – emerging from the Tamburello chicane with the lead.
From there, Verstappen never looked back, managing Virtual Safety Car and full Safety Car periods to lead home Lando Norris and Piastri, bagging his and Red Bull’s second win of the season in the team’s 400th Grand Prix.
Speaking afterwards, Verstappen said: “The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but then I was still on the outside line, basically the normal line, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside’. It worked really well!
“That of course then unleased our pace, because once we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres and we had very good pace today. Again, a massive improvement from Friday, and I’m very pleased for that.
“That VSC was quite handy to pit, and even on the hard compound, I think our pace was very strong. Then there was the Safety Car, so the field was all back together. But even then on the restart, I think we managed it all really well and brought it home.
“I’m incredibly proud of everyone. It’s been a very important week for us, the car has performed really well, and also I think the whole execution of the whole race, when to pit, the pit stops themselves, were all very good.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/verstappen-talks-through-bold-piastri-pass-that-unleashed-red-bulls-pace-in.4Gz1jiMurvRZlRb52enNTi
Lando Norris climbed from fourth to second in Formula 1’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, but admitted that the leading Red Bull of Max Verstappen was simply too “fast” around the Imola GP circuit.
McLaren won five of the last six races, but conceded defeat to the Red Bull of Verstappen after the Dutchman took the lead of the race in the opening lap. Despite a late charge from Norris after the safety car, the Brit couldn’t chase down Verstappen.
“I think second was best we could achieve today,” Norris told Sky TV after the Imola GP.
“Max was fast, the Red Bull was quick, you know, so I don’t think we really had an answer to them – even in the final stint, you know.
“Just a long race, a lot of options that came and went. But I think second was the best we could do today. So, I’m happy with that.”
Norris continued that even if he had managed to qualify on the front row instead of fourth, “Max was too quick for us.”
This mirrored the experience of his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who took his third pole position of the season in Imola. However, his lead of the race didn’t last long as Verstappen lunged around the outside of Tamburello to take first position on the opening lap.
The Dutchman’s victory means just 22 points separate the top three drivers, with Verstappen in third, Norris second and Piastri leading with 146 points to his name.
After closing the gap to his team-mate, Norris says he is now feeling “happy” and “positive” about his performance on Sunday to recover from an underwhelming qualifying at Imola.
“I’m very happy with my Sundays,” Norris said.
“I have been the whole season, and I still feel like I’m very strong. It’s just my Saturdays just make my life way too difficult come Sunday.
“I have to fight back. I always need to take risks with overtakes. I work harder than what I should and what I need to.
“So, I’m still confident. I’m happy. I’m positive.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/lando-norris-mclaren-had-no-answer-for-max-verstappens-speed-in-imola-gp/10724157/
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire from his first F1 race around his home circuit after his Mercedes had a throttle failure.
The Italian pulled to he side on lap 46 when he was running in eighth place, having made up from 13th on the grid.
Antonelli, who has otherwise impressed this season, also admitted he was overcome by the occasion of competing in his home race for the first time in F1.
He said: “After two or three laps [after the VSC], I started to have the issue with the throttle… then unfortunately it went off completely.”
He later added: “I was losing power, and sometimes the sensor was going crazy, so it’s a shame but these are things that can happen, and for sure without the problem, the pace would have been much better.
“But I need to still work on my driving, to see where I can improve, and also to improve the race pace, especially with the hot temperature, because I think when it’s cold, the pace is really good, it’s much better, and also for me it’s much easier to manage the tyre, and I need to still work on it when it’s hot.”
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/kimi-antonelli-suffers-heartbreak-f1-imola-gp-debut/10724171/
Lewis Hamilton was buoyed by his recovery drive from P12 to P4 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion admitting that doing this in front of Ferrari’s home fans for the first time was a “really great feeling”, while team mate Charles Leclerc cut a more frustrated figure despite moving up to P6.
The Scuderia had endured a nightmare Qualifying on Saturday that saw both Leclerc and Hamilton exit Q2 in 11th and 12th places respectively, meaning that the pair had their work cut out for them come Sunday.
Both drivers looked to be in fighting mood, however, with Hamilton pulling off a series of overtakes – as well as benefitting from a well-timed pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car, having been one of those to run an extended first stint – en route to a final result of fourth, crossing the line less than two seconds behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third.
After jumping out of the car, Hamilton was asked whether fighting back through the field in front of the adoring Tifosi was the type of scenario he had dreamed of during his first season as a Ferrari driver.
“I mean, obviously I couldn’t hear them, but to drive in front of the Tifosi today [and] this weekend has been a highlight of the year so far,” the 40-year-old smiled.
“There was a lot of pressure on us as a team, with struggling through the year so far with the car and particularly with our Qualifying, so to have such a strong race, to be moving forwards, making ground, it was such a great feeling.
“I would say for me, I don’t remember the last time I had a race like that where you’re moving forwards. I’m sure there was one maybe last year, but this one’s different obviously because I’m in the red car and I haven’t done that yet, so to finally have that connection, that synergy with the car today and progressing was a really great feeling.”
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/hamilton-hails-really-great-feeling-of-fightback-to-p4-at-imola-as-leclerc.3dXllEdgiweO3h7MuC2wB8