Grand Prix d’Emilie-Romagne: Race – Verstappen triumphs ahead of a blessed Hamilton

First eventful rounds!

Despite the wet conditions, the race started from a standing start and it is Max Verstappen who took the lead over Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Pérez! At the first corner, Red Bull and Mercedes are elbowing each other at the entrance of Tamburello. The British driver tried the outside line on number 33, but was forced to take a wide turn on the yellow rumble strips, causing some damage to the front wing of his car.

The rest of the peloton remained relatively cautious. But Nicholas Latifi went spinning at Aque Minerale following his teammate George Russell. He rejoined in front of Nikita Mazepin who, trying to attack the Canadian, sent him into the wall before the Variante Alta. The safety car is deployed on the second lap of the race.

The wet conditions also caught out Mick Schumacher. The Haas driver spun just after leaving the pits. He lost his front wing and the pit lane was closed for two laps.

Sergio Perez, on the other hand, made a mistake at Piratella. He let both McLaren cars pass before reclaiming his fourth place under Safety Car conditions.

Race restart

Verstappen relaunched the race on the seventh lap in front of Hamilton, Leclerc, and Perez. Lewis Hamilton attempted a new attack on the outside of Verstappen at Tamburello, without success. Charles Leclerc was pressing on Hamilton at Tosa before letting the black car in front of him go.

Pierre Gasly, on the other hand, struggled with his Full Wet tires, losing positions lap after lap, even falling out of the points. The Normand driver was eventually called into the pits.

In the meantime, Verstappen did not sit idle and took a more than four-second lead over Hamilton.

Pérez, for his part, was handed a ten-second penalty for overtaking the McLarens under the Safety Car. He was overtaken while he was in the gravel, which is why he dropped back.

First laps on dry tires!

The first to try the slick tires gamble was Sebastian Vettel on the 22nd lap! The Aston Martin driver came back out on medium tires, thus giving a first idea of the performance of dry tires in changing conditions.

The leaders have chosen to wait to put on dry tires. This allowed Lewis Hamilton to catch up like a plane on Max Verstappen, thanks to traffic. The Dutchman is called into the pits on the 28th lap to put on medium tires, leaving Hamilton in the lead. Successful gamble for Red Bull! Verstappen made a meteoric last sector to come out ahead of his British rival, who pitted one lap too late.

Sergio Pérez served his penalty on the same lap as Hamilton’s pit stop. The Mexican took the opportunity to change his steering wheel.

Disaster for Hamilton and big crash on the 32nd lap: red flag!

Incredible 32nd lap! Lewis Hamilton, trying to pass through traffic, missed his braking point at Tosa and hit the wall at low speed! He damaged his front wing and remained stuck without being able to steer for endless seconds… he dropped to ninth place!

Shortly after, George Russell and Valtteri Bottas suffered a terrifying crash in the straight line before Tamburello! The Williams driver tried to pass on the outside of Bottas, but the latter slightly veered to the right, forcing Russell to put a wheel in the grass… and then in a cascade: Russell’s car spun into Bottas’s car, both cars crashed into the left barrier before ending up in the gravel outside Tamburello. Red flag due to the numerous debris littering the track.

Another missed opportunity for George Russell, who was aiming for points and even dared to attack the flagship Mercedes. A little altercation between the two men as they got out of the car. Rarely have we seen a Mercedes this damaged…

Second start and new race

The race is back on at the 36th lap after about half an hour of interruption.

This time, it was a rolling start behind the safety car that was ordered. Verstappen almost made a mistake at the entrance to Rivazza, almost caught off guard by Leclerc! It was ultimately Lando Norris who benefited from the situation by taking second place from the Monegasque! The McLaren of the English driver took advantage of his soft tires while his competitors switched to mediums.

Behind, Yuki Tsunoda made a mistake followed by Esteban Ocon. The Alpine went off track, while the Japanese’s AlphaTauri was able to continue.

Another mistake in the 38th lap: Sergio Pérez makes a mistake in the chicane before Tosa, where he had made a fantastic move on Alex Albon last year… The Mexican was disputing third place with Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen, for his part, did not do things by halves to escape: he set new lap records, distancing Norris and Leclerc.

Lewis Hamilton took advantage of a rejuvenated Mercedes to climb back up the chasing pack, made up of Norris, Leclerc, and a Carlos Sainz close to his teammate. The seven-time world champion first got rid of Sainz, then Leclerc after being stuck behind the Monegasque for several laps. Lando Norris eventually cracked, due to a stubborn clutch and worn tires.

Max Verstappen was unable to steal the best lap from Lewis Hamilton, which prevented him from taking the lead in the championship by just one point. He still managed to win with a comfortable lead over his English rival. Lando Norris held on to a superb third place ahead of the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz.

Thin consolation for the French, in the points

Pierre Gasly was able to finish in eighth place despite a very difficult start to the race. Esteban Ocon, on the other hand, scored the point for the tenth place, which is also the first for the Alpine brand in Formula 1, ahead of his teammate Alonso.

Final ranking: