Verstappen soars to Red Bull 1-2 victory at rollercoaster wet-dry sprint weekend in Imola.
Podium Finishers
It was the Red Bull of reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, who crossed the finish line first on Sunday after a near-perfect weekend in Imola.
A dream weekend for Red Bull as teammate Sergio Perez finished P2 for the day … which leads everyone to wonder, has Red Bull figured out the answer to their troubling reliability woes of races prior?
Lando Norris proved once again that he loves Sprint weekends in Italy, as the Briton finished P3. What a turn around from Bahrain, indeed!
Best of the Rest
Thanks to a brilliant start and an epic defense, the George Russell finished an impressive P4 (with teammate Lewis Hamilton only managing to finish P13 who could not get past the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly).
Right on his heels was the hungry Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, who all could certainly assume was chomping at the bit to get past his Mercedes successor. All things considered, a P6 finish is certainly something the Finn can celebrate. Traditions!
Championship leader Charles Leclerc looked primed for P3 (with data later suggesting P2 was possible) until a late spin on Lap 54. The Monegasque finished a disappointing P6 on Tifosi turf – ouch!
Yuki Tsunoda finished an impressive P7 after a late pass on Sebastian Vettel (P8), who scored his first points of the year in his emerald Aston Martin.
It was the Haas of Kevin Magnussen who crossed the line ninth, despite a blisteringly quick start up to P5.
Lance Stroll rounded out the points for the day, a respectable double points finish for Aston Martin who entered Imola dead last in the constructors’ standings.
Heartbreak for the Tifosi
What many thought would be a dream ended as a nightmare weekend for the Tifosi after two years of near misery for the red-adorned fanbase.
Thanks to an error from the papaya-car of Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz was out of the race on Lap 1, a second race in the row the Spaniard’s race has ended early in the gravel.
It was all eyes (and hopes) on Charles Leclerc, who looked secure to have a podium finish at his team’s home race. A late gamble to pit for soft compound tyres looked like a glimpse of promise for P2, however Leclerc seemed to push a little too hard on Lap 54/63, seeing him spin and hit the wall at Variante Alta. Too much pressure on the seemingly cool Monegasque? Time will tell…
Looking Ahead
The grid is headed across the pond to the land of palm trees and sunshine for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. It’s a brand new track with everything to play for: will Leclerc prove he’s championship ready or will he succumb to the pressure while a hungry Max Verstappen keeps his eyes on the prize? We’ll find out next weekend!
