By winning the Emilia Romagna GP, Max Verstappen extended his lead in the Formula 1 world championship by fending off a late assault from Lando Norris.
With 20 of the 63 laps remained, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a 7.5-second lead and looked to be coasting to victory. However, in an exciting finish, McLaren’s Norris mounted a tremendous surge to come within a second of the lead.
Verstappen’s fifth victory in seven races this season puts him back on track for a fourth consecutive drivers’ title after he was defeated by Norris in Miami two weeks ago.
With a third-place finish, Charles Leclerc secured Ferrari’s first podium at Imola since 2006. Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, finished fourth, besting Carlos Sainz in the Italian team’s other vehicle.
Verstappen now leads the world championship by 48 points, with Leclerc moving up to second place behind Perez. Despite being 60 points behind the lead, Norris is still in fourth place, just six behind Perez in third.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth ahead of George Russell, who lost the spot to his Mercedes teammate as he stopped late to change his tyres. Russell’s fastest lap of the race earned the Silver Arrows an additional point.
Due to the dearth of passing opportunities at the renowned circuit, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was only able to finish eighth, finding it tough to move up from 11th on the grid.
Red Bull’s lead over Ferrari in the constructors’ standings extended by just four points to 56 points as a result of Perez’s little contribution. Red Bull is in third place, with McLaren 114 points behind.
As teammate Fernando Alonso wrapped up a wild weekend in 19th place, Lance Stroll finished ninth to secure his first points since the Australian Grand Prix and rescue some points for Aston Martin.
Yuki Tsunoda continued his excellent start to the season by taking the final point in 10th place, despite being unable to sustain the outstanding one-lap pace that saw him qualify seventh for RB.
Emilia Romagna GP Result
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:25:25.252 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.725 |
| 3) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +7.916 |
| 4) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +14.132 |
| 5) Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +22.325 |
| 6) Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +35.104 |
| 7) George Russell | Mercedes | +47.154 |
| 8) Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +54.776 |
| 9) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +79.556 |
| 10) Yuki Tsunoda | RB | +1 lap |
| 11) Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1 lap |
| 12) Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1 lap |
| 13) Daniel Ricciardo | RB | +1 lap |
| 14) Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1 lap |
| 15) Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +1 lap |
| 16) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1 lap |
| 17) Logan Sargeant | Williams | +1 lap |
| 18) Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +1 lap |
| 19) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1 lap |
| Alex Albon | Williams | Did Not Finish |
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