Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: the Editor’s Top/Flop list

The TOP 3

Norris among the best

If he had not been penalized for his Q3 lap, he would have had a perfect weekend. Lando Norris continues to impress in this early season, as he did in junior formulas or in his previous F1 campaigns.

The Briton, starting 7th following a time canceled for exceeding track limits in qualifying (which should have put him 3rd), made a fantastic start to overtake Pierre Gasly and his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on team orders.

He then took advantage of Perez’s troubles and the race restart to overtake Charles Leclerc and move up to second place behind the untouchable Verstappen. Only Hamilton in his Mercedes managed to overtake him at the end of the race as his tires were worn out.

Second podium in F1, 3rd place in the championship for him and McLaren, a teammate as talented as Daniel Ricciardo overshadowed… A Grand Prix that will be significant in the young Briton’s career!

2. Verstappen from start to finish

The duel is on! The question of whether Red Bull would be able to truly compete with Mercedes is definitively swept away, at least for the start of the season.

Starting from 3rd place in the wet conditions he loves so much, “Mad Max” made a perfect start, jumping ahead of his teammate Perez and passing Hamilton in a tight spot, not without squeezing the Briton a little.

The Dutchman, despite a scare on the second, managed the race restarts perfectly and the strategy without ever being worried by Mercedes and Hamilton. Rid of the seven-time world champion in his rear-view mirrors after the red flag, Max will calmly impose himself with a 22-second margin.

Clinic.

3. Ferrari (finally) back in front

Despite another failure on Sainz’s side in qualifying with a disappointing 11th place for the Spaniard, the Scuderia is gradually recovering and gaining momentum this season.

Led by a superb Charles Leclerc, Ferrari placed two cars in the top 5 for the first time since Turkey last year and seems able to reproduce this kind of performance in the future unlike last season.

If they can regret not having a car on the podium, after Norris passed Leclerc during the restart after the red flag, Ferrari’s overall result is very satisfying and the Reds now have the ability to fight against McLaren for 3rd place behind Mercedes and Red Bull.

A poster that also promises!

BONUS: Hamilton lucky then monstrous

Across all sports, this is called the champion’s luck. Having not retired since nearly two years ago at the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton came close to throwing in the towel before the checkered flag in this crazy race at Imola.

Author of a masterful pole position the day before, the Briton saw his advantage reduced to nothing after Verstappen’s daring move at Tamburello, where the Red Bull driver took the lead by force while Hamilton damaged his front wing.

Kept at bay for a long time, the Briton came back very close to Verstappen with better traffic management and could even have come out in front without a mistake in the Mercedes pit stop.

Back on the hunt, Hamilton gets caught off guard when trying to lap Russell’s Williams and goes straight into the gravel trap. Miraculously getting out in reverse, Lewis takes advantage of the red flag caused by the accident between Russell and his teammate Bottas to make repairs and set off resolutely with a knife between his teeth.

Hamilton then did a Hamilton: passing drivers one by one from 9th to 2nd place and setting the fastest lap in the race to stay ahead in the championship by one point over Verstappen.

Well paid but deserved.

The FLOP 3

Bottas at the bottom of the pit

In pole position and conquering despite a second-place finish here last year, the difference is chilling for Bottas this season at Imola.

Starting from a distant 8th place, Bottas lost a position at the start to Stroll and sadly vegetated throughout the race in 9th place.

Not an overtaking move nor a hint of aggression, Bottas was fighting with cars weaker than his Mercedes and the comparison with Hamilton’s end of the race is once again hard to digest.

To top it off, Bottas had a nice scare when he collided with George Russell’s Williams, who was trying to overtake him approaching Tamburrello. A spectacular crash, some choice gestures in response to what is increasingly looking like his future replacement, zero points scored… A weekend to forget for the Finn.

It is urgent to react!

2. Pérez, missed opportunity(ies)

Brilliantly qualified on the front row for the first time in his career (although unhappy to miss out on pole position), Pérez had big ambitions for this Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Third in the first round after Verstappen passed him, the Mexican constantly made mistakes, especially under the Safety Car where he regained the positions lost to Leclerc and Norris after going through the gravel trap. Result: a stop and go and a race that took a turn for the worse.

Thinking he had a chance with the red flag, Verstappen’s teammate once again makes a mistake and this time restarts behind the entire pack.

While Red Bull could have gained valuable points ahead of Mercedes, the star brand remains ahead in the constructors’ championship.

Mistakes to avoid at this level of competition.

3. AlphaTauri, the disappointment (almost) as big as the promises

The points lost at the beginning of the season may cost AlphaTauri dearly at the end of the championship in December in Abu Dhabi.

Qualified 5th, Gasly went for a very daring unconventional strategy with Full Wet tires while the track was drying out overall. A failed gamble which sent the Normandy driver to the back of the pack after being overtaken by the entire field and having to pit earlier than expected.

However, Gasly showed resilience and will seek 7th place after Stroll’s penalty and scored his first points in the championship.

As for Tsunoda, a crash in qualifying forced him to start from the back, and despite a great comeback into the top 10, the Japanese rookie wasted a great opportunity by making a mistake at the restart after the red flag.

Tsunoda’s young mistakes somewhat overshadow his (very) good performance in Bahrain.

If the overall result is correct accounting-wise for AlphaTauri in this race, the level of this car should allow the team to compete with Ferrari and McLaren but the difference has already been made in two Grand Prix.

Not sure if the Italian firm will be able to catch up on the delay accumulated compared to its direct rivals, especially with the development race.