The reigning F1 world champion reeled in Charles Leclerc after the Ferrari driver grabbed the lead at the start of the sprint race, with Verstappen regaining the lead on the penultimate lap.
It meant Verstappen converted pole position from Friday’s qualifying into the sprint race win and will start Sunday’s grand prix from the front ahead of Leclerc.
Sergio Perez climbed from seventh to third for Red Bull, with Carlos Sainz pulling off a similarly solid recovery from 10th to fourth for Ferrari, as McLaren settled for best of the rest with Lando Norris fifth and Daniel Ricciardo sixth respectively.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas claimed seventh place, but it was a nightmare maiden F1 sprint for rookie team-mate Zhou Guanyu who crashed on the first lap after clashing with Pierre Gasly. The Chinese driver has been given a pitlane start penalty for Sunday’s grand prix.
Kevin Magnussen conceded he made the wrong tyre call on his own maiden F1 sprint, opting for mediums when his rivals all went for softs, which saw the Haas driver drop to eighth place to round out the points places for the sprint race.
Mercedes continued to struggle with its W13 as George Russell could only manage 11th place, where he started the sprint, while team-mate Lewis Hamilton lost a position to AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and will start the grand prix in 14th pace.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, passes Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75, for the lead
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
When is the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?
Date: Sunday 24th April 2022 Start time: 2:00pm BST, 3:00pm local time
The fourth round of the 2022 F1 season, the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola, gets underway at 3:00pm local time (2:00pm BST) on Sunday 24th April.
How can I watch Formula 1?
In the United Kingdom Formula 1 is only broadcast live on Sky Sports, with highlights shown on Channel 4 several hours after the race has finished. Live streaming through NOW is also available in the UK.
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