F1: Verstappen Edges Out Norris to Secure Victory at Emilia Romagna GP

Max Verstappen, the three-time defending F1 world champion, managed to hold off a strong challenge from Lando Norris to claim victory at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. Driving the Red Bull RB20, Verstappen secured his 59th race win, with Norris in the upgraded McLaren finishing just 0.725 seconds behind.

Ferrari, hoping for a win near their factory in Maranello, had to settle for Charles Leclerc's third-place finish, the team's first podium at Imola since Michael Schumacher's victory in 2006. Despite showing competitive pace in the practice sessions with an updated new car, the Ferrari drivers struggled to match the Red Bulls and McLarens during the race after falling behind them in qualifying.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who received a penalty in qualifying, managed to overtake Ferrari's Carlos Sainz during the round of pit stops by executing an undercut strategy. Sainz, despite closing the gap, was unable to catch the Australian driver and had to settle for fifth place.

Norris was voted the driver of the day

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton had one of his best performances of the season, finishing sixth ahead of teammate George Russell. Red Bull's Sergio Perez struggled, finishing eighth after a disappointing qualifying session.

The Aston Martin duo of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso had mixed fortunes, with Stroll finishing ninth and Alonso starting from the pits and finishing 19th. Yuki Tsunoda secured a point for the Visa Cash App RB team in tenth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in 13th.

The race, which had the potential to become a classic, remained largely uneventful due to the closely matched pace of the leading cars and the difficulty in overtaking at Imola. The lack of safety cars and incidents also contributed to minimal position changes.

Following the Emilia Romagna GP, Charles Leclerc moves up to second in the drivers' standings behind Verstappen, with Perez dropping to third and Norris close behind. Result

1 Max VERSTAPPEN

2 Lando NORRIS +0.725

3 Charles LECLERC +7.916

4 Oscar PIASTRI +14.132

5 Carlos SAINZ+22.325

6 Lewis HAMILTON +35.104

7 George RUSSELL +47.154

8 Sergio PEREZ +54.776

9 Lance STROLL +79.556

10 Yuki TSUNODA +1 lap

11 Nico HULKENBERG +1 lap

12 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +1 lap

13 Daniel RICCIARDO +1 lap

14 Esteban OCON +1 lap

15 Guanyu ZHOU +1 lap

16 Pierre GASLY +1 lap

17 Logan SARGEANT+1 lap

18 Valtteri BOTTAS+1 lap

19 Fernando ALONSO+1 lap

Did not finish

Alex Albon Williams – lap 54