Max Verstappen achieved an excellent victory in an action-packed Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna that was halfway through the red flag, after a quick accident with Valtteri Bottas and George Russell, who both walked away unscathed. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a turn at Tosa to finish second, while Lando Norris made it from seventh to third place with a tremendous drive that earned him the Driver of the Day award.
For the 99th time in his F1 career, Hamilton started off the post when rain fell on Imola, but it was Verstappen who jumped from third to first with a masterful launch of second gear. Hamilton again took a short lead when Verstappen sat on Lap 27 for midfielders in midfield, but the Briton came second thanks to his sluggish stop one lap later. At round 31, the seven-time champion locked up and stranded his car at Tosa, only to rejoin P8.
A frightening accident followed when Bottas and Russell met at Tamburello. Both were fortunately unharmed, but Bottas was apparently excited and Russell furious when another potential point dropped in a spectacular way from the Williams driver.
The red flag follows to let marshals abandon the cars and rubbish, and by the start of the reload, Verstappen can maintain its lead, with Hamilton quickly making ground from P8. A brilliant recovery followed, with the world champion finishing fifth by Lap 43, fourth by Lap 50 and third – at the expense of Leclerc – by Lap 55.
|
1 Max Stepping FAR Red Bull Racing |
2: 02: 34.598 | 25 |
|
2 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
+ 22,000’s | 19 |
|
3 Lando Norris YET Mclaren |
+ 23.702s | 15 |
|
4 Charles Leclerc LEC Ferrari |
+ 25.579s | 12 |
|
5 Carlos Sainz SAI Ferrari |
+ 27.036s | 10 |
However, the victory would be Verstappen’s and with a lead of more than 20 seconds on the flag, as the action behind him could not beat anything. That left Hamilton in second place, Norris third thanks to a sensational ride of P7, and Leclerc fourth – his podium dropped to the superior McLaren of Norris, who jumped the Ferrari after the red flag started again.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth even after two trips through the gravel, while Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth for McLaren who started there.
Lance Stroll was quickly in the wet again and took the P7 from P10, ahead of Pierre Gasly whose choice to start wet did not bear fruit, leaving him as low as 17th on Round 16 when he bit the bullet and exchanged. inters.
Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, finished 16th, but reached the wet P11 point and took P9 when Bottas and Russell came together. Esteban Ocon, who started ninth, rounded out the top-10 for Alpine’s first point of the season.
More to follow
AS IT HAPPENED
Light wind and cloud cover overshadowed the track when the paddock paid tribute to MotoGP legend Fausto Gresini an hour before the race, and this increased to the circumstances in which the drivers put on a mix of mid and medium tires. road to the grid use.
Thirty minutes before the light went out, Fernando Alonso turned his Alpine on inters on his way to the grid, damaging his front wing. Panic ensued on Aston Martin as Lance Stroll’s car jumped behind a brake fire as it moved to its grille. The team changed his and his teammate Sebastian Vettel’s brakes into a frantic recovery before the race, and Vettel had to start from the pit lanes as a result – and would also finish his race in the pits, when he was forced to gearbox to retire. .
They say that when it rains, it pours, and it starts doing exactly that when Charles Leclerc turns on the formation shot at Acqua Minerals. He was one of 16 who chose intermediaries for the start; with only the Haas pair Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly on full wet tires.
It was the # 99 ranking – but hopes of a # 97 victory quickly faded for Lewis Hamilton, as Max Verstappen jumped him right at the start of the P3. At Tamburello, the two wheels collided and Hamilton pushed over the curbs while parts of his floor and wing flew off in the process. Verstappen chases away with the Mercedes driver chasing.