Emilia Romagna GP: Max Verstappen holds off late Lando Norris challenge to seal victory at Imola

Max Verstappen held off a late charge from Lando Norris to extend his Formula 1 world championship lead with victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Red Bull’s Verstappen appeared to be cruising to victory having opened up a 7.5s advantage with 20 of the 63 laps remaining, but McLaren’s Norris produced a stunning surge to close within a second in a thrilling finale.

Having lost out to Norris in Miami two weeks ago, Verstappen’s fifth victory in seven races this season puts his quest for a fourth successive drivers’ title back on track.

Charles Leclerc took third to seal Ferrari’s first podium at Imola since 2006, with Norris’ McLaren team-mate Piastri beating Carlos Sainz in the Italian team’s other car to fourth.

Verstappen’s world championship lead grows to 48 points, with Leclerc displacing Perez in second. Norris remains fourth, 60 points off the lead, but just six back from Perez in third.

Lewis Hamilton was sixth ahead of George Russell, who gave up the position to his Mercedes team-mate as he made a late pit stop for a fresh set of tyres which enabled him to earn the Silver Arrows an extra point with the fastest lap of the race.

Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez was only able to take eighth as the lack of overtaking opportunities at the famed circuit made it difficult for him to make progress from 11th on the grid.

Perez’s small contribution means that Red Bull’s lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings increased by just four points to 56 points. McLaren are 114 points back from Red Bull in third.

Lance Stroll came ninth to seal his first points since the Australian Grand Prix and salvage some points for Aston Martin as team-mate Fernando Alonso ended a torrid weekend in 19th.

Yuki Tsunoda was unable to maintain the impressive one-lap pace that saw him qualify seventh for RB, but took the final point in 10th to continue his strong start to the season.

Norris gives Verstappen huge late scare

Having overcome Red Bull’s practice struggles to seal a record-equalling eighth successive pole position on Saturday, Verstappen had admitted ahead of the race that he was still unsure over the strength of the RB20’s long-run pace.

Those doubts, which were shared both in and outside of Red Bull, appeared to have been erased as the Dutchman eased clear of Norris after holding off the Brit at the start.

Verstappen had opened up a near seven-second advantage by the time Norris stopped at the end of lap 22, and that lead reached a peak of almost 7.7s with 20 laps to go after Verstappen had also switched the medium tyres he started on for the hard compound.

At that point, Norris appeared more likely to finish third than first, with Leclerc closing within a second to apply pressure for several laps.

The Ferrari driver made an error as he ran over the grass at Variante Alta on lap 47, freeing Norris from the pressure.

Leclerc suddenly fell away, with attention quickly turning to the fact that Norris was suddenly closing on Verstappen at a rapid rate.

The gap continued to close as both drivers struggled for grip on ageing tyres, with the tension increased by the fact Verstappen had received a black and white flag for two track limits breaches and was one more away from incurring a five-second penalty.

Norris was just a tenth of a second outside the one-second margin he needed to be within to activate DRS assistance on the final lap, which enabled Verstappen to just about hold on for the chequered flag.

While Verstappen’s win strengthens his position as clear favourite for the title, Norris’ performance will increase hope that McLaren can continue to push the Dutchman and Red Bull throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Norris continued to impress after sealing his maiden F1 victory in Miami, while McLaren could have been in an even stronger position going into the race had Piastri not been demoted from second to fifth on the grid for an unnecessary impeding violation in the first part of qualifying.

Piastri clearly had strong race pace too, as he pressed Sainz throughout the stint before comfortably pulling off an undercut on the Ferrari during the pit stops.

Hamilton edges Russell as Mercedes remain off pace

Mercedes never had the pace to compete with the top five but were able to seal a solid result as Hamilton and Russell took sixth and seventh, respectively.

Russell had started from sixth and Hamilton eighth, but the seven-time world champion passed Tsunoda at the start to move directly behind his team-mate.

Hamilton ran a longer first stint but his hopes of leapfrogging Russell looked to have been blown as he ran onto the grass shortly before stopping.

It looked as though they would finish in that order until Mercedes opted to pit Russell with 11 laps to go, following a radio conversation in which he had questioned the merits of the decision.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained after the race that not stopping when he did would have left Russell at risk of losing seventh to Perez, and that Hamilton would have likely passed his team-mate on track if he hadn’t pitted.

“His lap times were getting slower and slower and our forecast saw he was not going to make it to the end and we didn’t want to lose the position to Perez,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

“Lewis would have probably taken him anyway. The point being that we are racing for P6 and P7 and wanted to keep the Red Bull behind. It was a safety call.”

Elsewhere, Alonso was unable to make ground having started from the pit lane after making an early exit from Qualifying.

Alex Albon, who signed a contract extension with Williams earlier this week, was the only driver to retire from the race as an electrical issue saw the team’s disappointing start to the season continue.

What the top three said

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 1st:

“The whole race I had to push flat out to try and make a gap initially. On the medium tyres we were quite strong. On the hard tyres it was more difficult to manage, especially the last 10 to 15 laps.

“I had no grip anymore. I was sliding a lot. I saw Lando closing in. The last 10 laps were flat out. It’s difficult when the tyres were not working anymore and you have to go flat out. I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes. Luckily we didn’t. I’m super happy to win here today.

“We changed a lot on the car (after Friday practice). We didn’t have a lot of information in the race. Maybe that’s why on the hard tyres it was more difficult.

“From where we started the weekend to now, we can be incredibly pleased with pole and the win.”

Lando Norris, McLaren – 2nd:

“It hurts me to say but one or two more laps I think I would have had him. Tough. A shame. I fought hard right until the very last lap but just lost out a little bit too much to Max in the beginning, he was much better in the first stint. In the second stint we were stronger.

“It was a tough first half and a much better second half and one or two more laps and it would have been beautiful, but just not today.

“I think we’re at the point now where we can happily say we are in the position of Ferrari and Red Bull. So it’s what we have to get used to. But we are all doing a very good job and it’s business as usual.

“It’s focusing on doing the same things, it’s just we are fighting for first or second now. It’s still a surprise to say it’s frustrating not to win but after last weekend and the improvements we’ve made it’s what we should start to expect.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 3rd:

“Of course, I’m only very happy when I win. We were fast at the beginning of the stint on the hard.

“I tried to push to put some pressure on Lando but later on they were incredibly quick. All in all, the race pace was quite strong.

“We lacked pace in Qualifying. After looking, we missed out on the first straight. On the rest of the lap we were quick, so it’s looking good for the rest of the season.

“It’s incredible to be on the podium with all the Tifosi here in Imola.”

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