Max Verstappen wins Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after late Charles Leclerc error
Verstappen claimed a comfortable victory, in which he lapped rival Lewis Hamilton, but Leclerc’s late spin made it a nightmare weekend for Ferrari
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Max Verstappen cruised to victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to cut Charles Leclerc’s championship lead after the Ferrari driver threw away a podium finish with a costly late spin at Imola.
Sergio Perez finished second to seal a Red Bull one-two, but only after Leclerc made a late pit stop for soft tyres in an attempt to catch him. The move backfired, however, with the championship leader spinning off with 10 laps of the race remaining as he lost control of his car through the chicane and hit the wall.
The mistake saw Leclerc drop to ninth and although he was able to recover to salvage sixth place, it sealed a nightmare weekend for Ferrari at their home race in Italy after Carlos Sainz retired on the opening lap following a bump from Daniel Ricciardo.
Lewis Hamilton’s struggles continued as he finished in a lowly 13th and his miserable weekend was completed after being lapped by last season’s title rival Verstappen. Toto Wolff would later apologise to Hamilton for an “undrivable” car.
The victory is Verstappen’s second of the season, to go along with two retirements, as Red Bull responded to their reliability issues with a dominant performance in a race that started in wet conditions.
And a fastest lap completed a perfect weekend for the defending champion to cut Leclerc’s lead at the top of the standings to 27 points, adding to the Dutchman’s victory in Saturday’s F1 Sprint race and pole position from Friday’s qualifying session.
“It’s always tough to achieve something like that,” Verstappen said. “We were on it. Today, you never know with the weather how competitive you are going to be but as a team we did everything well. This one-two is deserved.”
Leclerc’s late error allowed Lando Norris to complete the podium while George Russell finished fourth with a commendable drive in the struggling Mercedes.
Morning rain at Imola brought the first wet race of the season, with all drivers starting on intermediate tyres. Verstappen, starting on pole position for the first time in his championship defence, was sharp off the line to keep his lead into the opening corner.
It was the start the Dutchman needed as he attempted to claw back Leclerc’s lead in the standings, and the Ferrari was caught out cold after being passed by Verstappen’s team-mate Perez and Norris.
Sainz, after spinning off in Australia last time out, was hit from behind by Ricciardo and was left beached in the gravel to make it a nightmare opening lap for the Tifosi at their home race.
Verstappen was able to retain his lead as the grid pitted for slicks with the track conditions drying. Leclerc emerged from his stop to briefly take second but Perez, having pitted earlier to warm up his tyres, regained his position with a swift move.
Verstappen was able to build a comfortable lead as Perez held Leclerc, with the Ferrari struggling to match Red Bull’s straight-line speed without DRS, which was not enabled until midway through the race due to the early wet conditions.
Even when Perez had a nervy moment under the pressure of Leclerc, in which he ran over the chicane and through the grass verge, he was able to recover to defend his position.
It looked as if Leclerc would settle for third and a podium finish but Ferrari rolled the dice and pitted for softs in an attempt to catch Perez.
Leclerc was able to close the gap, but as the 24-year-old looked to hunt Perez down he bumped the curb at the chicane and spun into the wall.
Leclerc was able to continue as Ferrari avoided what would have been a disastrous double DNF - but the sixth place finish he salvaged will still feel like a crushing blow for the Tifosi after their excellent start to the season, as Red Bull came away from their back yard with a maximum haul to inject new life into their season.
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Top Ten
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
3. Lando Norris, McLaren
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
7. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
8. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
10. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments