Max Verstappen returns to success in Imola after the misstep in Miami and achieves his third victory at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari, overtaking a certain Micheal Schumacher. The Dutchman celebrated his 59th career victory at the end of a nerve-wracking race: the three-time world champion had to squeeze out all the potential of the Red Bull to stay ahead of Lando Norris. The gap was minimal: 725 thousandths! A nothing. The Emilian GP opens a new phase in the world championship, where the world champion team seems to have lost a good part of the margin it had at the start of the season.
All the top teams brought updates and McLaren gave the clear feeling of having the most competitive car, but once again it was Max who made the difference with an RB20 that was suffering from an unusual subthird at the end. The Dutchman was warned three times for track limits, but when he risked a five-second penalty he never did anything wrong again. In the key moment he demonstrates the mettle of the champion. And the applause that the Italian public gave to the first two gives a sign that this F1 is changing. Nothing is taken for granted anymore: Lando Norris, after breaking the ice in Florida, has shown that he is capable of attacking Verstappen. The Englishman would have liked a couple of laps more than the 63 expected to hope to change the ending. Max was not intimidated by McLaren, but it is clear to everyone that from the first European race it could be a different F1 and, for once, he allowed himself some hotter celebrations than usual, complete with a “fly” on his mechanics in the closed park.
Ferrari is only third with Charles Leclerc, but the Monegasque took the podium with a gap of less than eight seconds from the top. It is right to highlight this, because Imola was not the most suitable track for the SF-24 and the Scuderia, despite being beaten in front of its own fans, gained some significant points. Leclerc is second in the drivers’ world championship, having displaced Sergio Perez who only achieved an eighth place: the gap between the Red Bull drivers was one of Ferrari’s objectives and it came sooner than one might have thought. The Mexican who started on the hard tires was never a protagonist, being overtaken by everyone who put their wheels alongside him.
Leclerc is holding on to third place, aware that he doesn’t have the pace to match the pace of the two in front, even if in certain phases of the race he had performances of absolute value, a sign that the red car is on the right path. Charles didn’t seem satisfied, but he can already think about Monte Carlo where it will take place next weekend, given that the red car should find its hunting ground in the Principality. The Evolution package was not enough, but the first three were collected in a few seconds and the gap to be recovered is only a couple of tenths. Ferrari, therefore, can aspire to challenge Red Bull and McLaren: the developments worked, but they were not enough at Imola. In the Principality the values could change, giving another dimension to the team’s work. The big man at the Variante Gresini lost contact with the leading two, but the pace didn’t seem bad: Charles pushed harder in the first part of the GP and had no more beer at the end.
McLaren also adds Oscar Piastri’s fourth place to Norris’ place of honor: the Australian could have aspired to the podium if he hadn’t paid for the three positions on the grid for impeding Magnussen in qualifying. He had ended up behind Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, but it didn’t take him to regain his position. Andrea Stella’s haul, given his potential, could have been greater: the MCL38 seems to have found the key to the problem, but Max, after a perfect start (the Dutchman has to thank Nico Hulkenberg’s slipstream on the pole lap, otherwise he wouldn’t have started front) tried to extend his lead in the first stint, while he had to defend himself with the hard tyres. The “papaya” car deserved more, but we have to deal with the… monster.
Mercedes, however, fails: they pay half a minute with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. The sixth and seventh places represent the value of the Star despite the updates. In Brackley they are aware that James Allison also made the wrong car and they will wait for Simone Resta to change something.
Perez was disappointing: the Mexican managed to stay ahead of Lance Stroll, ninth with the Aston Martin and last with full laps. The “green” was unable to make the new aerodynamic package work, so the two world championship points are a greater prize than the potential seen. Fernando Alonso never entered the game: starting from the pit lane on soft tires he gave the impression of a team that doesn’t seem to have clear ideas even when working on the track.
Yuki Tsunoda scores another point that moves the Racing Bulls standings, while Daniel Ricciardo is once again left with wet dust. The Japanese managed to hold off the two Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.
The rest is cinema…
#Verstappen #wins #Imola #suffers #Norris #Leclerc #tow
