Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – Verstappen reigns, Leclerc makes a mistake

The perfect race for Red Bull! Well placed on the starting grid (P1 and P3), the two cars from the Austrian team achieved a historic one-two finish on Italian soil with Max Verstappen taking the victory. On the other hand, Ferrari had a difficult weekend with only one driver finishing in the points.

A departure on a wet road.

However, all the cards were reshuffled even before the start of the race. Earlier in the day, a heavy shower had fallen on the Emilia-Romagna circuit. The drivers had to start on a wet track with intermediate tires. So, behind Verstappen on the grid, Leclerc succumbed to the pressure from the two Red Bulls and saw Perez overtake him even before the first corner. But things were going to get even more complicated for Ferrari. While the drivers were trying to find a way through, Sainz was pushed into the gravel trap by Ricciardo. The Spaniard was then forced to retire for the second consecutive time. A forgettable Sunday for the Ferrari driver who had just extended his contract with the Italian team. After this incident, the Australian had to go through the pits and even restarted in last place after the intervention of the safety car.

LAP 1/63

Contact between Ricciardo and Sainz

The Aussie has got going again but the Spaniard is beached in the gravel and out of the race

⚠️ SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED ⚠️#ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/TGVi9Ogufr

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2022

In the same corner, Bottas had not managed to avoid hitting the McLaren, but luckily without damage for the former Mercedes driver. But at the start, Norris had a good race start by quickly overtaking Leclerc. In third place, he could calmly follow the two Red Bulls. He wasn’t the only driver to have a good start. Russell took sixth position, while Magnussen took advantage of the collision to take fifth place.

Second departure, after the Safety Car

The race restart went smoothly for the Red Bull duo. Just after Rivazza, Verstappen maintained his lead position. Norris held onto his third place against Leclerc, although the latter was persistently trying to overtake with the slipstream of the McLaren. In the middle of the pack, Alonso’s misfortunes continued. The Alpine driver was being overtaken lap after lap by Stroll and then Hamilton. His car was damaged after a collision with Magnussen during the first turn at the start of the race. Magnussen had spun and his right rear wheel had hit Alonso’s side pod. A piece of his right side pod even came off, forcing the Spaniard to retire in the seventh lap. The two Spanish drivers on the grid were now watching the race from the pits.

Charles Leclerc as a hunter, just like the Mercedes.

On the eighth lap, the Monegasque driver finally managed to get past Lando Norris. He was six seconds behind Verstappen and three seconds behind Perez. In the following lap, the Dutchman proved that he had the pace to go for the win by setting consecutive fastest laps. As for Mercedes, it was like day and night. While Russell struggled to get closer to the podium, Hamilton (14th) couldn’t get past Gasly, who in turn was stuck behind Albon.

Russell put immense pressure on the Danish driver to regain fifth place. On the twelfth lap, the Briton finally managed to overtake Magnussen at the entrance of Tamburello, but his late braking led to a mistake, allowing the Haas driver to reclaim the position at the exit of the chicane. Eventually, the overtaking maneuver was completed at the braking point of Variante Alta. This battle allowed Bottas to catch up to the two drivers. The Alfa Romeo even managed a splendid overtaking move on the outside of Magnussen before Rivazza.

The track is gradually drying up, but there are menacing dark clouds.

At the quarter mark of the race, the ideal trajectory was dry and the intermediate tires were starting to lose effectiveness. Everyone was tearing their hair out over the choice of tire strategy. Indeed, the risk of rain was still very present. Ricciardo was the first to enter the pits. He dared to go back out on yellow tires, which were the intermediate slick compound. A rather surprising choice, given the temperature of the track. But the driver managed to achieve good sectors. In the meantime, Vettel followed suit. At the same time, Leclerc caught up with Perez after several mistakes by the latter. The Mexican immediately made a pit stop to put on mediums, like the rest of the field. Certain parts of the track remained slippery.

LAP 20/63

Contact between Hamilton and Ocon in the pit lane 😮

Stewards are investigating 👀#ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/6qCKgw0M0m

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2022

Verstappen and Leclerc made their pit stops one lap apart. However, the Monégasque driver lost time with a longer pit stop than his rival (+1.3 seconds). Despite this small error, Leclerc came out ahead of Perez, but the second Red Bull driver regained his second position as his tires were at the right temperature. A few laps later, the current championship leader caught up but overtaking was still difficult. The track remained very wet off the racing line for the medium tires. During this general “frenzy,” Ocon was released from his pit stop a bit too early as Hamilton was approaching. While the accident was narrowly avoided, the Frenchman was then given a five-second penalty.

At half-way point, everyone observes themselves.

The race remained lively, but the drivers didn’t want to take too many risks. And even though the racing line was completely dry, it wasn’t the case for the entire width of the tarmac. It was very difficult to find a way to overtake. Ricciardo, who was stuck behind Hamilton’s Mercedes, took the gamble by switching to hard tires. But the Australian struggled to find a rhythm throughout the race. It was also a forgettable race for the McLaren driver.

It was necessary to wait until the 35th lap for the DRS to be allowed. A little too late for Leclerc who was losing seconds behind Perez. Only Verstappen was benefiting from it as he lapped Ocon (11th) to improve his fastest lap record. A memorable image, he lapped Hamilton (14th) who couldn’t find a way past Gasly.

End of a grueling race for Charles Leclerc

So it was impossible to catch up to Perez in the Red Bull, Ferrari decided to go with plan B. The Scuderia then decided to put Leclerc’s car on soft tires to attack the Mexican’s second place. And this new strategy got off to a bad start. Coming out of the pit lane, the Monegasque was overtaken by Norris, although he quickly regained the position. Still in third place, he was racing towards Perez to try and take second place. It’s worth noting that both Red Bulls had made a pit stop to cover Ferrari’s strategy.

Optimistic and patient, Leclerc spun his car at Variante Alta. With a stroke of luck, he was able to continue, but flat spots on his tires forced him to make a pit stop. He emerged in ninth place. He then embarked on a comeback to minimize the damage. He ultimately finished in sixth place, ahead of a determined Tsunoda, who had a very impressive race.

LAP 54/53

Leclerc has gone into the barriers at the chicane!

He’s got going again, returns to the pits and then out again on track but down in P9 #ImolaGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/242hWCCR8h

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2022

This huge mistake cost him a lot. Norris didn’t ask for that much and got his first podium of the season. A welcome third place that materialized the great efforts made by McLaren since the first steps of the 2022 car in Bahrain. Like an opportunist, Russell took fourth place after a big duel with Bottas. Unlike last year, the two drivers managed to avoid a collision.

Without being worried, Verstappen won the race, ahead of his teammate and Norris. A very interesting double for Red Bull, which scores many points. It is worth mentioning that this is the first double for the Austrian team since Malaysia in… 2016. A nightmare weekend for Ferrari. One fewer driver and Leclerc’s mistake allowing other drivers to catch up to him. While both Aston Martin cars finish in the points for the first time (P8 – Vettel, P10 – Stroll), the French drivers leave Italy empty-handed: Gasly (12th) and Ocon (14th). After a great race, Formula 1 will meet us again on May 8th for the Miami Grand Prix.

The ranking of the race