IMOLA, Italy — Max Verstappen stormed into the lead on the opening lap and held off the competition to win Sunday’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
The four-time world champion Red Bull driver made a stunning move around point leader Oacar Piastri through the Tamburello chicane and built a steady lead en route to his second victory of the season.
“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,” Verstappen explained. “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.”
Piastri was among 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 20 seconds.
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 Piastri did not.
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.
Norris came home second with his McLaren teammate Piasti holding off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to claim the final podium spot.
Alex Albon brought his Williams home in fifth position, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Piastri holds a 13-point lead over Norris in the standings.
