Max Verstappen thumbs up
After 50 laps of having it all his own way, Max Verstappen’s dominance at Imola was tested by Lando Norris as the Briton closed to within DRS range but ran out of laps.
By a narrow margin of 0.725s, Verstappen successfully retained his position to secure the victory, followed closely by the McLaren driver. Charles Leclerc rounded up the top three, completing the podium.
Max Verstappen challenged by Lando Norris at Imola
Although Lando Norris seemed to get a better launch than Max Verstappen, the Dutchman was able to pull ahead into the first corner with Norris having to look in his rear-view mirrors as he can under attack from Charles Leclerc.
All 20 drivers, including Fernando Alonso, made a clean start, even though he began the race from the pit lane due to Aston Martin’s decision to alter his suspension following his unsatisfactory qualifying performance.
Verstappen wasted no time in distancing himself from Norris, as he managed to break out of the DRS range within just three laps. The Red Bull driver pulled ahead, leaving behind the McLaren driver who had the pressure of the two Ferraris right behind him. Oscar Piastri held the fifth position, followed by George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Nico Hulkenberg. Leading a six-car DRS train was Hulkenberg, which included Sergio Perez, who impressively climbed up to the tenth position on hard Pirelli tires.
Sainz, under pressure from Piastri, informed Ferrari that the McLaren was a speedy car. His attempts to fend off the Australian were hindered as he no longer had the advantage of DRS due to his teammate’s Ferrari.
At the nine-lap mark of the 63-lap race, a dramatic incident occurred at Williams involving Alex Albon. He decided to pit for new tires, but soon after, he expressed concern about the improper placement of his tire. This forced him to cautiously navigate the track, yielding to the leading racers as they lapped him. Eventually, he managed to reach the pits, where his FW46 received fresh tires, allowing him to resume the race. However, he found himself significantly behind in 20th place. To compound his troubles, he received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for an unsafe release from the pits.
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Verstappen extended his lead to three seconds over Norris at the front, while Piastri from the McLaren team was closely tailing Sainz’s Ferrari in the battle for fourth place. However, Piastri faced difficulties in closing the remaining distance.
Yuki Tsunoda made the first pit stop among the top ten drivers, coming in on lap 13, just one lap after Daniel Ricciardo. After the pit stop, Tsunoda and Ricciardo re-entered the race in 15th and 16th positions respectively, with Tsunoda leading. Following Tsunoda, Hulkenberg also pitted but unfortunately lost a position to Tsunoda.
Perez became the first driver to encounter the revised gravel traps at Imola, eating dirt during his 18 laps. This small mishap cost him a valuable few seconds in his pursuit to catch up with Hamilton.
Russell made a pit stop on lap 22, and shortly after, Norris followed suit. However, Norris encountered some trouble when he got stuck behind Perez. Meanwhile, Piastri entered the pit on the next lap. Eventually, Norris managed to find a way past Perez and successfully overtook him at Tamburello.
On lap 25, Verstappen made a pit stop, surrendering the lead to Leclerc and rejoining the race in fourth place. Leclerc also pitted a lap later, relinquishing his lead and rejoining the track behind Norris and Perez. In a similar move to Norris, Leclerc successfully passed the Red Bull at Tamburello, with Piastri closely following him. Sainz and Hamilton made their pit stops on lap 28.
Here is a revised version: At the halfway point, the current top ten standings are as follows: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Perez, Lance Stroll, Hamilton, and Kevin Magnussen. It’s worth noting that Perez, Stroll, and KMag are yet to make their pit stops.
After trailing behind Logan Sargeant for multiple laps, Tsunoda managed to surpass him. Hulkenberg also seized the opportunity and overtook the Williams driver. They engaged in a fierce contest for the remaining points-scoring spots.
After being overtaken by Hamilton, Red Bull made the decision to bring Perez into the pits on lap 38. Stroll and Magnussen also followed suit, causing Perez to fall behind Ricciardo in the Red Bull car. However, in just a few corners, Perez managed to overtake Ricciardo and secure a spot in the final points-paying position. Continuing his impressive performance, Perez quickly surpassed Hulkenberg and Tsunoda, placing himself in P8.
Verstappen maintained his lead at the front, while Norris faced a challenge from Leclerc, who closed in within DRS range on lap 45. However, Leclerc lost valuable time at the first chicane, allowing Norris to pull ahead by two seconds. This setback seemed to affect Leclerc’s pace, preventing him from closing the gap with Norris.
Mercedes opted for a two-stop strategy, which led them to bring Russell in on lap 53 for a fresh set of soft tyres. As a result, Russell emerged ahead of Perez in sixth place but still behind Hamilton.
Verstappen, in the meantime, received warnings regarding his track limit violations, which posed a potential issue for the current World Champion as Norris closed in on him. With only five laps remaining, the gap between them had narrowed down to just two seconds. Frustrations started to show as Verstappen voiced his complaint about Tsunoda causing traffic.
However, as Norris applied pressure, Verstappen increased his speed, appearing to have full control of the victory. Despite the fluctuating gap between them, Norris expressed concerns about his deteriorating tires while Verstappen faced issues with his battery failing to charge. Nevertheless, Verstappen managed to hold on and secure the win, finishing 0.7 seconds ahead of Norris. Leclerc claimed third place for Ferrari.
Finishing ahead of Sainz, Hamilton, and Russell, Piastri secured the fourth position, while Perez, Stroll, and Tsunoda earned points to complete the race.
Result
1 Max VERSTAPPEN 1:25:25.252 63 laps
2 Lando NORRIS +0.725
3 Charles LECLERC +7.916
4 Oscar PIASTRI +14.132
5 Carlos SAINZ+22.325
6 Lewis HAMILTON +35.104
7 George RUSSELL +47.154
8 Sergio PEREZ +54.776
9 Lance STROLL +79.556
10 Yuki TSUNODA +1 lap
11 Nico HULKENBERG +1 lap
12 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +1 lap
13 Daniel RICCIARDO +1 lap
14 Esteban OCON +1 lap
15 Guanyu ZHOU +1 lap
16 Pierre GASLY +1 lap
17 Logan SARGEANT +1 lap
18 Valtteri BOTTAS +1 lap
19 Fernando ALONSO +1 lap
Did not finish
Alex Albon Williams – lap 54
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