formula 1
Verstappen drags himself to a hat-trick of wins in Imola
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen also wins the Imola Grand Prix. photo
© Luca Bruno/Pool AP/AP
Max Verstappen almost lost his fifth Formula 1 victory of the season after tire problems in Imola. Lando Norris puts the Red Bull dominator under huge pressure.
After a late tremor, Max Verstappen went to the Ayrton Senna memorial Imola won the European opener of Formula 1 and further extended his championship lead. 30 years after the death of the Brazilian legend, the Red Bull world champion celebrated his hat-trick of victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, but dragged himself to the finish line with tire problems and only 0.725 seconds ahead.
Verstappen barely relegated Miami surprise winner Lando Norris to second place in the McLaren and raced to his fifth win of the season. To the delight of the Tifosi, Charles Leclerc made it onto the podium in third place at Ferrari’s home race. In the Haas, Nico Hülkenberg narrowly missed out on the points in his Imola debut in eleventh place. “That was a really strong drive,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, praising his star Verstappen.
Verstappen in action as a Formula 1 driver and sim racer
Verstappen, who once again took part in a virtual race as a sim racer this weekend, struggled all the way to qualifying. He and Red Bull simply couldn’t get the vehicle set-up right. In the hunt for a starting position, the world champion team was right there. Verstappen took his seventh pole position of the season, and it was his eighth in all seasons.
Verstappen thus equaled Senna’s record from 1988 and 1989. “It’s something very special because it’s been 30 years since he died. I’m very happy to get pole position here,” said Verstappen after the 39th pole of his career and then confidently led the field into the first Curve of the race.
After the Grand Prix in Emilia-Romagna was canceled last year due to flooding, fans finally cheered on their horsepower heroes again. “It’s great to come back,” said Formula 1 managing director Stefano Domenicali, who himself comes from Imola.
Vettel’s memorial drive with Senna’s last McLaren
Sebastian Vettel provided emotional moments even before the start, remembering Senna, who died in Imola on May 1, 1994, with a show drive. The four-time world champion, who retired at the end of 2022, drove a McLaren MP4/8 that he owned. Senna drove this car before moving to Williams and celebrated his last Grand Prix victory in it in 1993.
When the red lights went out, Hülkenberg got off to a strong start. He moved up two places from tenth place. The start is one of the few opportunities to make up ground in Imola. “After Monaco, this is the most difficult circuit on the calendar to overtake,” noted Fernando Alonso, who had to roll out of the pit lane in his Aston Martin after an accident in qualifying.
At the front, Verstappen completed consistent lap times, almost like a metronome. After around a quarter of the 63 laps, the Dutchman was already five seconds ahead of Lando Norris, who in turn had the two Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz breathing down his neck.
Red Bull fends off the McLaren attack
McLaren went on the offensive and brought Norris into the pits early on lap 23. But the move didn’t work. The Englishman returned to the track in seventh place with fresh tires, directly behind Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez. Two laps later, Verstappen got new tires. In fourth place, ahead of Norris, he drove his car back. Meanwhile, Hülkenberg was stuck in 13th position.
The highlights on the asphalt remained rare – not least at the front. There, Verstappen set the pace for a long time in the style of a worthy three-time world champion. After two thirds of the race distance, the 26-year-old was more than six seconds ahead of Norris. The McLaren star had to defend himself against Leclerc, but the Monegasque lost valuable time when he slipped on the grass.
In the final phase, Verstappen increased the pulse rate again. “My tires don’t work,” he complained over the radio to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. The lead over Norris melted and melted. Then the Red Bull battery almost ran out of juice – but Verstappen saved himself across the finish line.