REPORT: Verstappen makes amends to deny Norris at Imola

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen bounced back from defeat last time out in Miami to win the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix for the third time running on Sunday, but the reigning Formula 1® world champion had to sweat in the closing stages as McLaren’s Lando Norris came home hard, Verstappen winning by just 0.725secs after 63 laps.

Verstappen was all at sea in a heavily-revised Red Bull in practice at Imola, but took an outstanding pole on Saturday and won the long charge to the first corner on Sunday to have the race under control.

With a dozen laps remaining, the Dutchman led Norris by a comfortable 4.2secs before the McLaren driver started to tear chunks out of his advantage, Verstappen beginning to struggle on worn hard-compound rubber as Norris surged.

The tension mounted as Norris got within DRS range on the final lap, but was never close enough to show Verstappen a wheel as the Dutchman added to his 2021 and 2022 successes at Imola, last year’s event being called off at the 11th hour after flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region.

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Charles Leclerc sent the Ferrari fans home happy with third, and took over second place in the drivers’ standings after Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez had a low-key Imola outing. Perez missed Q3 for the first time this year, qualified just 11th, and could only advance to eighth after using the hard tyre for a marathon first stint.

The race was highly unusual for Imola in that there were no safety car interruptions – the first time that’s happened since the track came back onto the schedule in 2020 – and had just one retirement, Williams driver Alex Albon after 55 laps.

Aussie watch

Both Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo were left lamenting small moments that had massive consequences at Imola, Piastri in particular wondering what might have been after a grid penalty undid his brilliant Saturday effort in qualifying, where he finished second.

The McLaren driver was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in Q1, with teammate Norris inheriting his place on the front row alongside Verstappen – and using the updated MCL38 machine to harass the world champion all the way to the finish.

Piastri spent the first third of the race bottled up behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in fifth before undercutting the Spaniard in the pit stop phase, and looked set to challenge Sainz’s teammate Leclerc for the final podium place before finishing fourth for the third time this season.

Ricciardo, who qualified a season-best ninth, immediately fell out of the points as the lights went out to start the race after he and RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda both made slow starts, Ricciardo losing positions to Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) and Perez as he fell to 11th.

From there, at a track where passing is at a premium, Ricciardo spent just one lap inside the top 10 and finished 13th, a lap down on Verstappen.

FIA Formula 3® returned to the F1® undercard at Imola after a lengthy break since the Australian Grand Prix, and the wait for points for Christian Mansell and Tommy Smith will extend a little longer after a weekend of underwhelming results.

Mansell, who finished second in the season-opening feature race in Bahrain, was 12th (in the sprint) and 20th (feature) after qualifying 14th for ART Grand Prix, the 19-year-old finishing round three in 10th place in the world championship with 20 points.

Smith, for Van Amersfoort Racing, qualified 25th and finished 24th in Saturday’s 18-lap sprint. The 21-year-old spun on lap eight in Sunday’s 22-lap feature and fell to the foot of the field, eventually finishing 28th and ending the round in 30th in the standings.

Unsung hero

Lance Stroll gets the nod here, after the Aston Martin driver recovered from starting just 13th in a top-five car to score points for the third time this season with ninth place.

The Canadian used a long first stint on medium tyres – he later admitted he was goal-hanging for a safety car that never came – to be in a position to have a short stint on fresher hard tyres for the run to the finish, and went from 13th on lap 38 to ninth by lap 50, where he stayed to be the final car not lapped by race-winner Verstappen.

Number to know

8: Verstappen’s eighth straight pole position matched Aryton Senna (in 1988-89) for the longest run of consecutive poles in F1 history, and came at the same circuit where the Brazilian great lost his life at the San Marino GP 30 years ago.

Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: top 10

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 25mins 25.252secs
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.725secs
   
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +7.916secs
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +14.132secs
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +22.325secs
6. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +35.104secs
7. George Russell (Mercedes) +47.154secs
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) +54.776secs
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +79.556secs
10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +1 lap
    
    

Standings (top 5)

Drivers' championship

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 161 points
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 113
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 107
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 101
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 93
   
   

Constructors' championship

1. Red Bull Racing (268 points)
2. Ferrari (212)
3. McLaren (154)
4. Mercedes (79)
5. Aston Martin (44)

Next race

Round 8: Monaco, Circuit de Monaco (May 24-26)