Fans at Imola.
Lando Norris brought the fight once again, but this time, Max Verstappen had just enough to hold on and win at Imola.
In an exhilarating showdown, Verstappen and Norris engaged in an enthralling duel for the victory. However, in the race held in Miami, it was Norris who emerged victorious, while this time Verstappen showcased unwavering determination, steering his Red Bull to secure his fifth triumph of the season. The gap between them was less than a second at the finish line, with Charles Leclerc securing a podium finish.
Max Verstappen strikes back against Lando Norris at Imola
Verstappen and Norris both made perfect starts, but Verstappen successfully defended against the looming threat from Papaya into Tamburello, while Norris skillfully prevented Charles Leclerc from making any advances by closing the door on him.
After the start, the top 10 drivers in the points-paying positions were Carlos Sainz, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Yuki Tsunoda, and Sergio Perez. Among them, only Perez started the race on hard tires while the others opted for mediums.
On Lap 9, Alex Albon from Williams made a pit stop to exchange his medium tires for hard ones. However, he encountered a problem as he realized that the new tires were not properly fitted. Consequently, he had to divert his attention to avoid the oncoming group of cars attempting to overtake him. Once he managed to reach the pits, he switched back to medium tires. Unfortunately, he was later penalized with a 10-second stop/go penalty for the unsafe tire release.
On Lap 23, Norris opted to make a pit stop from P2 and switched to hard tyres. Shortly after, his teammate Piastri followed suit on the next lap. Piastri managed to position himself between the Ferraris after the pit stops, while Verstappen maintained a lead of just over six seconds over Norris by the halfway mark.
With the aim of securing consecutive victories, the McLaren driver initiated the task of narrowing the distance between himself and Verstappen. As the race approached its final seven laps, Verstappen’s advantage was reduced to just under 2.5 seconds. However, with five laps remaining, the gap had further diminished to 1.5 seconds.
However, Verstappen displayed an impressive performance and managed to secure victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, finishing just seven-tenths ahead of Norris at the checkered flag.
2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix order
1 Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull Racing
2 Lando NORRIS McLaren +0.725 1
3 Charles LECLERC Ferrari +7.916 1
4 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren +14.132 1
5 Carlos SAINZ Ferrari +22.325 1
6 Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes +35.104 1
7 George RUSSELL Mercedes +47.154 2
8 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing +54.776 1
9 Lance STROLL Aston Martin +79.556 1
10 Yuki TSUNODA RB +1L
11 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team +1L
12 Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas F1 Team +1L
13 Daniel RICCIARDO RB +1L
14 Esteban OCON Alpine +1L
15 Guanyu ZHOU Kick Sauber +1L
16 Pierre GASLY Alpine +1L
17 Logan SARGEANT Williams +1L
18 Valtteri BOTTAS Kick Sauber +1L
19 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin +1L
20 Alexander ALBON Williams
Drivers’ Championship
1. Max Verstappen – 161 points
2. Charles Leclerc – 113
3. Sergio Perez – 107
4. Lando Norris – 101
5. Carlos Sainz – 93
6. Oscar Piastri – 53
7. George Russell – 44
8. Lewis Hamilton – 35
9. Fernando Alonso – 33
10. Yuki Tsunoda – 15
11. Lance Stroll – 11
12. Oliver Bearman – 6
13. Nico Hulkenberg – 6
14. Daniel Ricciardo – 5
15. Esteban Ocon – 1
16. Kevin Magnussen – 1
17. Alex Albon – 0
18. Zhou Guanyu – 0
19. Pierre Gasly – 0
20. Valtteri Bottas – 0
21. Logan Sargeant – 0
Constructors’ Championship
1. Red Bull – 268 points
2. Ferrari – 212
3. McLaren – 154
4. Mercedes – 79
5. Aston Martin – 44
6. RB – 20
7. Haas – 7
8. Alpine – 1
9. Williams – 0
10. Sauber – 0
Read next – Emilia Romagna GP: Lando Norris agonisingly close to second win as Max Verstappen hangs on at Imola
