Things all looked pretty normal for the reigning world champion until a late charge from F1’s newest winner made things more interesting
JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE
FORMULA 1
If this year’s edition of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix had been held last season, Max Verstappen’s victory from pole position at a circuit notoriously difficult to overtake on would have been a foregone conclusion. Even in races where a Red Bull’s usual prodigious pace had been missed, Verstappen could be expected to control the race from the front lines.
It looked certain to go that way in the first 44 laps at Imola. Verstappen was 7.4 seconds clear of Lando Norris, the McLaren driver struggling for pace on the hard tyres and just about repelling Charles Leclerc’s DRS-assisted overtures for second place. The gap to the front had been growing; not at a particularly rapid rate, but enough for Verstappen to look reasonably secure. But there was a sudden change in the dynamic on the following lap. Norris suddenly chewed a second out of Verstappen’s lead, guiding Leclerc out of DRS range in the process as a fightback – on a weekend full of them – suddenly appeared on the cards. The prospect of a late-race showdown had looked unlikely over the first two-thirds of the grand prix, but that’s exactly what emerged.
What followed had shades of the 2005 race at the same venue – at least, to a degree. It came with its own modern twist, affected by the contemporary concepts of Pirelli degradation and the notion of performance windows. And, this time, it was the multi-time champion keeping the less-decorated driver at bay, a reversal from Fernando Alonso’s 12-lap defence against Michael Schumacher at the business end of the race 19 years ago.
Verstappen had already enjoyed something of a fightback after a disappointing trio of practice sessions, and was now reaping the rewards offered by ex-F1 driver Sebastien Buemi’s simulator stints back at Red Bull’s Milton Keynes factory. The correct ride height settings continued to elude the team into Saturday but, thanks to the Swiss driver and the work of the trackside engineers, a fix was implemented in time for qualifying to help Verstappen battle his way to pole. Nico Hulkenberg’s tow cemented the Dutchman’s position at the head of Sunday’s grid.
That Oscar Piastri, who narrowly trailed Verstappen in qualifying, was shuffled back three p
