Max Verstappen wins in Imola after brilliant start: 'I'm incredibly proud'

Published on 18 May 2025 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen has won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix for the fourth time in a row. The key to his victory was a daring overtaking move at the start, where Verstappen went around the outside of polesitter Oscar Piastri in the first corner to claim the lead. After two pit stops and despite a safety car in the closing stages, Max never gave up the lead, securing his second win of the year during Oracle Red Bull Racing's 400th Grand Prix. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri followed at a respectable distance in P2 and P3.

After the race, Max reflected on his start: “The start itself wasn’t great, but I was still on the outside, which is the normal racing line, so I thought I’d try to stay there, and that worked out well. That allowed us to show our pace. Once we were in the lead, the car worked really well. I could manage my tyres, and we had a lot of speed today, which I hadn’t expected. It’s a big step forward compared to Friday, so I’m very happy with that.”

While the Virtual Safety Car actually helped Max with his strategy, the full Safety Car that followed wasn’t ideal for him. Still, it didn’t threaten his win: “The Virtual Safety Car came at the perfect time to dive into the pits, and even on the hard compound, our pace was very strong. But then there was a full Safety Car, and everybody was back together. But even at the restart, we managed things well and secured the victory. I’m incredibly proud of everyone. This was a very important week for us, and the car performed really well. The entire execution of the race, from the timing of the stops to the pit stops themselves, was excellent. Now, it’s important to stay calm. We made a step forward with the setup, but that’s also because this track has fast corners, which suits our car.”

After a successful outing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a GT3 car under the alias “Franz Hermann” last week, Max made it clear he really loves racing: “I love driving and racing in F1. I love racing in any car, and of course, next week we’ll be at a completely different circuit in Monaco, which will be very challenging. But right now, I just want to enjoy today.”

He also had praise for the many fans at Imola: “It’s always fantastic to be in Italy; there’s a real passion for motorsport here. It’s fantastic to see all the fans throughout the weekend, so thank you very much for coming and cheering us on.”

It is dry and sunny at the start of the 63-lap Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the historic Imola circuit. The top eleven drivers start on medium compound tyres, while Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli are the first drivers on the hard compound from P12 and P13. Yuki Tsunoda, who crashed heavily during qualifying, has to start the race from the pit lane.

At the start, Max has a mediocre launch from P2, and George Russell, starting third, immediately pulls alongside him in the slipstream of polesitter Oscar Piastri. However, Max brakes extremely late into Turn 1 and pulls off a stunning move around the outside of Piastri to take the lead. Behind Piastri, Russell slots into P3, followed by Norris in fourth and Fernando Alonso in fifth.

In the early laps, Max maintains a lead of around 1.5 seconds over Piastri. Meanwhile, Norris starts putting pressure on Russell and overtakes his fellow Brit on Lap 11 with a bold move around the outside of Turn 5. Russell pits at the end of the lap for his mandatory tyre change. Max stretches his lead to nearly three seconds when Piastri pits on Lap 14 for a fresh set of hard tyres. He rejoins in P11, while Verstappen stays out. On his newer tyres, Piastri carves his way back through the field, overtaking drivers on worn rubber.

Lando Norris makes his pit stop on Lap 29 and returns to the track in seventh. Soon after, Esteban Ocon retires due to technical issues. Because his Haas is parked on the inside of Turn 7, a Virtual Safety Car is deployed, giving Max the perfect opportunity to pit. In a smooth stop, his medium tyres are swapped for hards, and the Dutchman rejoins still in the lead. Piastri moves up to P2, with Norris in third. Piastri, who pitted earlier, opts for a second stop and rejoins in fourth. This promotes Norris to P2 and a strong-performing Alexander Albon in the Williams into P3.

When the green flag waves again, Max holds an 18-second lead over Norris, while Piastri begins chasing down Albon. The McLaren driver rapidly closes in and passes the Williams driver on Lap 40 to reclaim P3. Home driver Antonelli is forced to retire his Mercedes on Lap 46 due to technical problems. This time, a full Safety Car is deployed, wiping out Verstappen’s lead. Max uses the opportunity to make a second pit stop for fresh hard tyres and retains the lead. Norris also pits and drops back to P3 behind teammate Piastri, who stays out.

The race resumes on Lap 54. Max maintains the lead at the restart and quickly builds a gap. Norris, on fresher tyres, is faster than Piastri and overtakes the Australian for P2 on Lap 58. By that time, Max already has a five-second lead over the two McLarens. There are no more changes at the front, and Max claims his second Grand Prix win of the season, during Red Bull Racing's 400th race. Norris finishes six seconds behind in P2, with Oscar Piastri in third. Lewis Hamilton makes a late charge to finish fourth in front of the Tifosi, while Alexander Albon battles Charles Leclerc to finish an impressive fifth. Leclerc, on worn tyres, finishes sixth, followed by George Russell in P7. Carlos Sainz, Isack Hadjar, and Yuki Tsunoda complete the top ten.

Results Grand Prix Emilia-romagna: