Max Verstappen delivered a dominant performance to ensure its second victory for the Formula 1 2025 season at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, marking the 400th Grand Prix of Red Bull Racing by a victory. From the second on the grid, Verstappen executed a decisive movement on Poleter Oscar Piastri through the opening turns, grabbing the head on the first round and never looking back. The race took place with strategic complexity, featuring both virtual safety cars (VSC) and periods of full safety cars. Piastri, as well as several drivers, opted for an early stop in the first round, going to hard tires.
However, this strategy did not give the desired advantage, because Verstappen extended its passage to the average tires. The VSC on the 29th round, triggered by the retirement of Esteban Ocon, allowed Verstappen to put itself in line with a minimum loss of time, joining the track with a substantial advance.
A complete safety car was deployed in Tour 46 due to Kimi Antonelli’s miride stopping on the right track. This caused another stop cycle of the stands, with Verstappen and Lando Norris opposing for fresh tires, while Piastri remained away. At the restart, Verstappen maintained his advance, while Norris exceeded his teammate of McLaren Piastri to win second place. Piastri managed to postpone a charge of Lewis Hamilton, who got back from the 12th on the grid to finish fourth for Ferrari.
Alexander Albon presented an impressive form for Williams, obtaining fifth place after an animated battle with Charles Leclerc de Ferrari, who finished sixth. George Russell was the only Mercedes finisher in seventh, after Antonelli’s retreat. Carlos Sainz added points for Williams with an eighth place.
The recruit Isack Hadjar continued to impress, bringing back his racing car at home in ninth. Yuki Tsunoda, despite the departure of the pit
Fernando Alonso little missed the points, finishing 11th, while Nico Hülkenberg took 12th. Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Lance Stroll finished the Top 15. Franco Colapinto, Ollie Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the classified finishers. Esteban Ocon and Kimi Antonelli were the only pensioners in the race.
This victory marked the fourth consecutive victory from Verstappen to Imola, stressing his domination over the circuit. In the classification of drivers, Oscar Piastri leads with 146 points, followed by Lando Norris with 133 and Verstappen with 124.
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