Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured a dramatic victory at Sunday’s Formula 1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, narrowly holding off McLaren’s Lando Norris in a nail-biting conclusion at Imola.
Verstappen, who started from pole position, managed to fend off an early challenge from Norris and appeared to be cruising to a comfortable win for much of the race. However, a late surge from Norris turned the final laps into a tense showdown.
On lap 50, Verstappen enjoyed a 5.7-second lead over Norris, but the McLaren driver steadily closed the gap to just 1.6 seconds by lap 58 of the 63-lap race. Despite the pressure, Verstappen kept his composure and crossed the finish line a mere 0.7 seconds ahead of Norris, claiming his 59th Grand Prix victory.
“The whole race I had to push flat out to try and make a gap initially,” said Verstappen. “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.”
Verstappen praised his team’s efforts, highlighting the significant setup changes made to his RB20 after challenging practice sessions on Friday. “From where we started the weekend to now, we can be incredibly pleased with pole and the win.”
Norris, fresh off his maiden victory in Miami, was optimistic despite falling just short. “It hurts me to say, but one or two more laps I think I would have had him,” Norris commented. “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. One or two more laps and it would have been beautiful, but just not today.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc delighted the home crowd by securing the final podium spot. Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished fourth, while Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, took fifth. The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell followed in sixth and seventh, respectively. Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, struggled to eighth after a poor qualifying session, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in ninth and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda completing the top ten.
Verstappen’s win extends his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 161 points. Leclerc moves up to second with 113 points, relegating Perez to third with 107 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull remains dominant with 268 points, followed by Ferrari with 212 and McLaren with 154.
The F1 circus now heads to the glitz and glamour of Monaco for the eighth round of the 2024 season next weekend.
