The Imola weekend seemed in favor of Piastri but, instead, Max Verstappen came out the winner. After gaining the lead at the second corner, the reigning world champion never left that position, breaking a dominating McLaren that, nevertheless, occupied the rest of the podium. In fact, Lando Norris came in six seconds and Oscar came in 12 seconds behind the Dutch driver.
Just below the Top 3 was Lewis Hamilton, who straightened out an otherwise bad weekend for Ferrari, eliminated even at the Q2 in qualifying. Charles Leclerc was 6th, split up from his pit neighbor by Alex Albon's Williams.
The Safety Car was brought out due to a malfunction that ended up stopping Andrea Antonelli's W16, while George Russell's other Mercedes failed to live up to its qualifying premise and crossed the finish line 7th seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz's Williams and Isack Hadjar's Racing Bulls. Yuki Tsuonda's performance was noteworthy, as he came in 10th after starting from the back of the pack, following a terrible accident in the first phase of qualifying.
"The start wasn't the best, but I was on the outside, I tried, and it went well. I kept a good pace, and I was able to manage the tires properly, as well. When starting again, I had no problems and I won. The car was perfect, and the team did a great job," Mad Max commented.
"It was a long race with difficult overtakings. Max probably had a better pace. This result is fantastic for the team. Russell's difficulties with the tires benefited us," Lando admitted.
"At the start, I braked too early and Max passed. It was a disappointment. Also, we made the wrong calls for stops. There will be things to review. The virtual was activated at the best time for the others, then I lacked grip," the third-place finisher stated, analyzing the situation.
