Max Verstappen Wins The Imola GP, Norris Finishes P2, Reduces Piastri’s Championship Lead To 13 Points
Max Verstappen won the 2025 Imola Grand Prix dominantly. The Dutch driver overtook Oscar Piastri early and then defended in the race. Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Isack Hadjar timed the tyre change during a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) perfectly, but polesitter Piastri couldn’t do the same.
Lando Norris was also able to reduce his teammate’s championship lead down to 13 points.
Oscar Piastri Vs Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen cleanly moved into the Tamburello chicane on Oscar Piastri by outbraking the Australian driver around the outside of turn 2. McLaren tried to undercut by pitting Piastri on Lap 14. However, Esteban Ocon’s retirement on Lap 29 resulted in a VSC, causing it to backfire.
This allowed drivers to stop, who didn’t have the opportunity before this point to stop and not lose race time. Max rejoined the track and held a lead of 20 seconds over Norris. Piastri’s disadvantage became greater when Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired, triggering a safety car, and the field bunched up.
The Redbull driver aced the restart and went on to win the Grand Prix by 6.109 seconds.
Safety Car Restart
Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s retirement due to a throttle control issue was a sad end to the Italian’s home race. Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon, and Isack Hadjar followed Verstappen, changing their tyres. Norris was able to take full advantage of the fresh tyres and overtook Piastri on Lap 58 of 63.
Piastri had to settle for P3 but still scored a solid chunk of points in time for the Monaco GP. Most notably, Ferrari bounced back after a disappointing qualifying session and finished in P4 for Hamilton and P6 for Leclerc. Charles finished P6 after battling with Alex Albon, pushing the Thai driver off-track and resulting in him losing positions.
Charles later gave the Williams driver position, saving himself from a potential penalty. However, this seemed to be a missed opportunity for a podium, as Piastri mentioned that he wouldn’t have been able to defend against Albon. George Russell finished P7 for Mercedes, surpassing Carlos Sainz.
Isack Hadjar followed Verstappen’s strategy and finished an impressive P9, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in P10. In terms of disappointment, Fernando Alonso was disappointed after an impressive qualifying session. The Spaniard also remarked on the team radio, stating that he is the unluckiest driver on the grid.
This makes the two-time world champion pointless in the 2025 season so far. It is important to note that the FIA brought the softest tyre compounds, which presented a strategic challenge for the teams. It will be fascinating to observe whether the governing body is able to learn from the same and provide the fans with exciting wheel-to-wheel battles.
