Verstappen emerges victorious in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix of 2025, with Norris and Piastri leading the way after a thrilling start to the race

In a thrilling afternoon that included Virtual Safety Car and full Safety Car phases, Max Verstappen has soared to an impressive second victory of the season at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Dutchman started the race in P1 and maintained his position ahead of the McLaren pair.

Polesitter Oscar Piastri started the race off in a thrilling manner, but Verstappen made a spectacular pass through the Tamburello chicane, and the World Champion went on to gain ground in the subsequent laps.

After halting for the hard compound on Lap 14, Piastri joined several other drivers in making an early pit stop. However, the Australian’s decision did not appear to be successful, as Verstappen continued to stay out on track to increase his lead in first place.

With about half of the field still out after that earlier rush of activity in the pits for the other half, concerns about whether a one-stop or two-stop strategy was the best course of action continued. However, all of that changed on Lap 29 when Esteban Ocon pulled onto the grass in the Haas, prompting the use of a Virtual Safety Car.

The most important of these was Verstappen, who pitted before getting back on track with a commanding lead of about 20s over Norris in P2, allowing those who had not yet stopped to visit the pits without losing much time.

Later on, however, there was more drama to come when a Safety Car was used because Kimi Antonelli had pulled off the track on Lap 46 because of a problem with his Mercedes, allowing Verstappen to stop again. Norris also stopped, but the other McLaren of Piastri did not, which made it unclear if the papaya team would choose to let the Briton pass his teammate on the restart.

Verstappen executed the restart perfectly and went on to win the 400th Grand Prix at Imola for the fourth time in a row. Norris had passed Piastri for P2, six seconds behind him, and the Australian managed to hold off Lewis Hamilton in fourth place after Ferrari’s strong comeback from their qualifying problems.

After losing a fierce late-race battle to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, which left the Monegasque in P6, Alex Albon continued his strong run for Williams by finishing in P5. Following Antonelli’s retirement, George Russell finished in P7 as the only Mercedes driver, and Carlos Sainz joined William in P8.

Yuki Tsunoda moved up to 10th place to take the final point available, which may have given the Red Bull driver some comfort following his horrific crash in Saturday’s qualifying. Isack Hadjar finished ninth for Racing Bulls in yet another noteworthy performance from the rookie.

Nico Hulkenberg lost out on a possible top-10 finish in P12, and Fernando Alonso lost out on points in P11 once more on a day when Aston Martin appeared to be regressing. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly finished in P13, ahead of Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls.

Ocon and Antonelli were the two retirees at Imola, while Gabriel Bortoleto of Kick Sauber and Ollie Bearman of the Haas completed the classified runners in 17th and 18th place, respectively. Franco Colapinto finished in 16th place in his first race behind the wheel of the Alpine.

WHEN IT OCCURRED.

It was finally time for the paddock to turn their focus to the main event, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, after an exciting qualifying session in which championship leader Piastri secured his third pole position of the season, surpassing Verstappen and Russell.

Before the 63-lap race started, the starting order had been altered twice. Colapinto was given a one-place grid penalty for breaking a rule during qualifying by entering the pit lane’s fast lane before a session restart time had been confirmed after a red flag in Q1.

In his first race back on the Formula One grid since his nine-race stint as Williams’ replacement in 2024, the Argentinian would now start in P16 for Alpine. After finishing Qualifying with a crash, the returning driver will undoubtedly be hoping for a better Sunday.

Meanwhile, the pit lane was where Tsunoda was supposed to start. The Red Bull team later modified the Japanese driver’s RB21 under parc ferme conditions after a dramatic incident on Saturday that saw his car spin into the gravel and topple over in the early stages of Q1.

It was confirmed that the majority of the field would start on the medium compound, with Hamilton, Antonelli, Hulkenberg, Bearman, and Tsunoda being the exceptions on the hard rubber, once the cars had gathered on the grid as the lights-out time approached and the tire blankets had been removed.

Verstappen was not to be deterred, and the World Champion executed an amazing overtake by squeezing through the Tamburello chicane to seize the lead. Piastri initially launched away strongly after the formation lap was finished and the race began at 1500 local time in warm and dry conditions.

Behind them, Leclerc had moved up into P10, and Russell had a strong start before he had to beat a pursuing Norris. Following Ferrari’s disappointing Saturday, the Monegasque appeared to be in a fighting mood as the action settled after the first few laps. He scraped with Gasly, causing the Alpine to run wide through the gravel.

Hamilton was also sporting a sexy look as he attempted to outshine Antonelli in a P11 duel, which the Mercedes eventually won. By Lap 5, Verstappen had pushed ahead of Piastri by 1 point and 6 seconds. Russell, Norris, Alonso, Sainz, Albon, Stroll, Leclerc, and Hadjar were next in line.

Even though Imola is a challenging track to pass, there were many drivers attempting to put pressure on their rivals in battles throughout the pack. In the battle for third place, Norris was right on Russell’s tail, and Alonso was pursuing Sainz.

Norris tried to make a move on Lap 9 as their battle grew more intense, and the McLaren briefly dipped its wheels onto the grass during an attempt one tour later. Russell radioed in, worried about his tire life, “I’m not sure how I’m going to make it to the target lap, pushing like this.”.

The Spaniard was able to close in thanks to the back and forth between the Mercedes and McLaren cars, which may have pleased Alonso. Norris quickly overtook Russell through the chicane on Lap 11, though, so the Briton now had to work to get closer to Piastri, who was six seconds ahead.

After all of this, a series of pit stops occurred a little earlier than anticipated, and Russell dove into the pit lane to replace his medium tires with a set of the hards. Alonso was one of the people who stopped, and as he was leaving the pit lane, flames emerged from the Aston Martin’s front brakes, creating a dramatic moment.

On Lap 14, Piastri decided to pit for the hard rubber, but the stop was a rather slow one at 3point 6s. After all of this group had pitted, Leclerc appeared to have gained the advantage during the pit stops phase, as the Ferrari driver found himself on the road ahead of Russell, Sainz, and Alonso.

As the Dutchman’s teammate Tsunoda attempted to make Piastri’s life more difficult as the Australian tried to pass him for P10, Verstappen had remained on course with a 10-second lead over Norris, who had also not yet pitted. The Japanese racer put up a good fight before the McLaren finally made a successful move.

Leclerc maintained his own rise by securing P11 from Tsunoda, while Piastri obtained additional positions by capturing additional vehicles that had not yet stopped, namely Bearman and Colapinto. “Free air and going long is the key for us,” Norris’s engineer informed him up at the front. Could those extending their opening stints benefit from a one-stop shop?

With Sainz, who had already made a stop while teammate Albon had not, arguing that a one-stop was the best course of action, strategy was becoming a hot topic of conversation among the pack. Hamilton, meanwhile, was arguing whether an undercut could work while on a split strategy with the other Ferrari, but he was informed that there was too much traffic in the area.

On Lap 25, Verstappen was still nine seconds ahead of Norris, with Albon, Hadjar, Antonelli, Hamilton, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Leclerc, and Bearman following. Of those in the top 10, only Piastri and Leclerc had pitted.

That order quickly changed, as Piastri quickly overtook Hamilton to take sixth place, putting Antonelli in his sights. The championship leader was struggling to clear this traffic, and it didn’t seem like the gamble to pit him early was paying off.

On Lap 29, Norris dug into the pits, and the Briton came back on the track in P7 on the hard tires. However, as he got back to the track, Ocon pulled onto the grass because of a problem with his Haas, and the yellow flags were flying.

This worked out perfectly for Verstappen, who swung into pit lane for his stop and came back to the track ahead after a Virtual Safety Car was called. The chance to make their own stops was also grabbed by others, and everyone who hadn’t pitted yet took advantage of it.

In addition, a number of early-stopping vehicles pitted for a second time under the VSC, including Leclerc, who complained about the timing on the radio. While some potentially dangerous releases appeared to have happened during those hectic few minutes in the pit lane, Piastri also made a second stop, which pushed him back out into P4.

When everything had settled down and the VSC period was over, Verstappen was in the lead on Lap 33, 19 seconds ahead of Norris, Albon, Piastri, Hadjar, Antonelli, Hamilton, Leclerc, Alonso, and Stroll.

Albon appeared to be winning, but his teammate Sainz was fighting alongside Tsunoda for P13, and the two made contact as the Spaniard managed to get past. After gaining an advantage from a stop during the VSC phase, Hamilton appeared to be in excellent form. The seven-time World Champion took P6 from Antonelli before rushing ahead of Hadjar for P5.

In a race for the last podium position, Piastri had already closed the distance to Albon, and the papaya car was soon entering Turn 2. Alonso lost to Hulkenberg for 10th place at the other end of the top 10, with the Aston Martins appearing to regress following a strong showing in qualifying.

Ferrari appeared revitalized after a difficult Saturday, with Leclerc passing Hadjar to take P6, in contrast to the British team’s difficulties. Could the squad possibly be faced with a team orders call should Leclerc close in? Hamilton was running 1 point 6s up the road in P5, but the latter had to nurse the medium tires.

Regarding squad strategy choices, Gasly expressed his appreciation after the Frenchman was permitted to pass on new teammate Colapinto to advance into P15, which allowed him to pursue Stroll further ahead. Alonso, meanwhile, kept sliding backwards and called himself the “unluckiest driver in the world.”.

Antonelli, the home favorite, was also having trouble; on Lap 46, he had a problem with his Mercedes and pulled off onto the grass at Turn 8. After a full Safety Car was sent out, Verstappen used the opportunity to pit once more because he was now well on his way to making the stop.

The Briton finished third behind Piastri, who had not pitted again, after Norris also went to the pits but had a somewhat sluggish stop. The top 10 now consists of Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Albon, Russell, Hamilton, Sainz, Hadjar, and Hulkenberg. Albon also made another stop before getting back on track in fifth place.

Before the restart, there appeared to be worries about tire life. Leclerc questioned whether he could stay in the points on his older rubber, and Norris noted that Piastri’s hard tires, which were eighteen laps old, might not last as long as his own newer tires. Would McLaren need to decide on this?

When the Safety Car pulled into the pits at the end of Lap 53, Verstappen was able to execute a strong restart and maintain the lead ahead of a 10-lap sprint to the finish. This raised anticipation about when the action would resume as Antonelli’s wrecked Mercedes was taken off the circuit.

In what might turn out to be a dilemma for McLaren, Norris had closed to within one second of Piastri, even though the Dutchman was already 1 point five seconds clear after one tour. Hamilton appeared to be all over Russell’s back, and Tsunoda had taken Hulkenberg for P10, while Albon was hot on Leclerc’s tail—the Williams on much fresher tires.

Norris was drawing closer and closer to fellow McLaren driver Piastri when Hamilton quickly passed his old teammate to take sixth place. As they entered Turn 2, Norris managed to slip through and take second place.

Despite Albon’s best efforts to overcome Leclerc behind them, the Monegasque repelled him. Albon ran through the gravel and fell back to sixth place on Lap 60 as the two cars came dangerously close to each other.

This made it possible for Hamilton to pass his fresher rubber and climb into fifth place. He then took fourth from his teammate. Albon then succeeded in getting closer to Leclerc, but would this time, he be able to make an impression?

“What did I do wrong?” Leclerc asked himself over the radio as the Williams finally managed to pass the Ferrari on the last lap of the race, while the stewards decided to look into that earlier Albon and Leclerc incident.

Verstappen crossed the finish line to win his 65th career race, leaving him 6 points ahead of Norris in second place. Piastri trailed his teammate in third place by a similar margin. Hamilton dedicated his finish to the Tifosi after finishing fourth in his first Italian race as a Ferrari driver.

While Russell earned some crucial points for Mercedes in seventh place on a day when only one of their cars finished, Albon managed to hold onto fifth place ahead of Leclerc. Sainz finished eighth in the Williams, Hadjar ninth, and Tsunoda tenth, the last point-paying position.

With Hulkenberg trailing in P12, Gasly in P13, and Lawson in a quiet P14 for Racing Bulls, Alonso finished the race in P11, indicating a disappointing performance for Aston Martin.

After returning to the Formula One grid for Alpine, Colapinto finished 16th, Bearman and Bortoleto finished 17th and 18th, respectively, while Stroll took 15th place. Both Ocon and Antonelli had to pull off the track due to problems with their respective cars, resulting in DNFs at Imola.

As a result of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Piastri remains well ahead of Norris in second place with 146 points, but Verstappen has now closed the gap to just nine points behind Norris in third.

essential quotation.

“It wasn’t a very good start, but I was still on the outside line, which is essentially the normal line, and I thought, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside,'” Verstappen said. It was really effective! Naturally, that caused us to slow down because the car was good once we were ahead. We moved at a great clip today, and I was able to take care of my tires.

It’s a huge improvement over Friday once more, and I’m thrilled about that. Even on the hard compound, I believe our pace was very strong, and that VSC was very useful for pitting. The field was fully restored after the Safety Car arrived, of course. But I believe we handled everything really well and brought it home even on the restart. Everyone makes me very proud. It has been a crucial week for us; the car has done incredibly well, and I believe that the race was executed flawlessly, including the pit stops and when to pit. “.

What comes next.

F1 will head directly to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix from May 23–25 as the next stop in a triple header of races. To learn how to follow the action from the race, visit the RACE HUB.