IMOLA, Italy — Max Verstappen is determined to maintain his grip on the Formula 1 championship, fending off Oscar Piastri and McLaren at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The reigning champion snapped Piastri’s three-race winning streak, rejuvenating his title defense with a dynamic opening move that set the stage for his triumph on Sunday.
Piastri, alongside teammate Lando Norris, has been in formidable form with McLaren generally outpacing the competition this season. However, Verstappen’s exceptional drive in the Red Bull left the McLaren duo trailing.
The Red Bull star built a significant lead that temporarily vanished when a safety car brought the pack together, adding tension in the latter stages of the race. Despite this, Verstappen maintained his composure to clinch victory. Norris seized an opportunity to overtake Piastri for second place in the final five laps.
Verstappen’s recent success marks his second victory of the season, following a win at the Japanese Grand Prix last month, and it extends his winning streak to four consecutive triumphs at Imola. He lauded Red Bull for their “fantastic execution all round,” celebrating their 400th F1 race by securing a win.
Reflecting on his decisive maneuver, Verstappen commented, “The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but I was still on the outside line, or basically the normal racing line, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it round the outside,’ and it worked really well. That, of course, unleashed our pace because once we were in the lead, the car was good.”
The victory was devoid of the controversies that shadowed Verstappen’s more aggressive driving approach in prior races in Saudi Arabia and Miami. Norris emulated Verstappen’s overtake, gaining an edge over Piastri thanks to a strategic tire advantage.
“We had a good little battle at the end between Oscar and myself, which is always tense, but always good fun,” Norris remarked. He conceded that Verstappen and Red Bull “were too good for us today.”
In the championship standings, Piastri’s lead over Norris has shrunk to 13 points, with Verstappen sitting just nine points behind Norris.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton rebounded from a starting position of 12th on the grid to achieve a commendable fourth-place finish in his debut race for Ferrari in Italy. Hamilton’s gains came amid a fierce duel between Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon for the fourth position.
The contest between Leclerc and Albon drew a complaint from Albon, claiming that Leclerc had forced him off the track. In the ensuing chaos, Hamilton deftly overtook both competitors, leading to Ferrari instructing Leclerc to allow Albon to reclaim the fifth spot.
George Russell secured the seventh position for Mercedes, followed by Carlos Sainz, Jr. in the second Williams. Isack Hadjar captured the ninth spot for Racing Bulls, as Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, managed a 10th place finish after starting at the back due to a crash during qualifying.
Imola delivered an unforgettable farewell in a race packed with action, challenging predictions of limited overtaking on the narrow, bumpy track. Drivers have cherished Imola’s classic charm since its reintroduction to the F1 calendar during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the track’s status as Italy’s second race position renders its future uncertain.
Though Sunday’s race concluded Imola’s current contract, future events remain unconfirmed. Verstappen expressed regret at the possible loss, remarking, “If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it. From me personally, when I just speak about the enjoyment of driving, it’s these kind of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general.”