Max Verstappen started on the pole at Imola and dominated early, and held off the inspired final laps charge of Lando Norris to win the MSC Cruises Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday (May 19th) at Imola. Verstappen’s pole was his eighth straight, matching the record of the late Ayrton Senna, who died in a crash at Imola 30 years ago. Norris turned what looked like an easy Verstappen win into a dramatic chase, but came up short of his second straight win by less than a second.
“The whole race I had to push flat-out to try and make a gap initially,” Verstappen said. “I think on the medium tires we were quite strong; on the hard tire it was just a bit more difficult to manage.
“In the last stint, the last 15 laps I had no more grip, I was sliding a lot … I couldn’t afford to make too many mistakes. Luckily we didn’t. I’m super happy to win here today.”
Charles Leclerc delighted the Tifosi by taking the final podium spot, while Oscar Piastri overcame a grid penalty that knocked him off the front row to take fourth. Carlos Sainz was fifth, followed by the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in sixth and seventh, respectively, with Russell grabbing an extra point for fastest lap. Sergio Perez, handicapped by missing Q3 on Saturday, finished eighth after starting 11th. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll made Daddy proud by taking ninth from his starting position of 13th, and Yuki Tsunoda took the final points paying spot, giving the Visa Cash App RB driver his second straight race with a points finish.
In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen now leads Perez by 33 points, 136 to 103. Leclerc is third with 98, 15 ahead of Norris and Sainz. Sixty-four of Norris’ 83 points have come in the last three races.
In the constructors’ standings, Red Bull leads Ferrari 268 to 212, with McLaren in third with 154, 75 ahead of Mercedes in fourth.
The Race
Verstappen screamed off the line at lights out, well aware of the importance of a good start, and held Norris at bay into turn 1. The world champion took the clean air and ran with it, hoping for smooth sailing — in other words, a race without a safety car, or any similar incident that would open the door for his rivals to beat him.
Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg picked off Tsunoda, who started seventh, while Pierre Gasly set a fastest lap, currently the highlight of Alpine’s season.
Norris displayed the pace early to stay close to Verstappen,…
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