Max Verstappen surges to Imola success as Charles Leclerc makes costly spin
Monday, 25 April 2022
The Dutchman never surrendered that position.
Max Verstappen surged to victory in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and gained ground on Charles Leclerc, who had a costly late spin.
Having given up on catching race leader Verstappen, Leclerc pitted from third for soft tyres in a bid to take the extra point for the fastest lap away from the Dutchman.
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However, the Ferrari driver lost control at the Variante Alta and sustained damage that forced him to pit again – enabling Lando Norris to take third.
Leclerc dropped to ninth but recovered to sixth as his championship lead was cut by 18 points, with Sergio Perez making it a Red Bull one-two.
Verstappen started on pole following his success in Saturday's sprint race and he never surrendered that position, though Leclerc slid down from second to fourth on a wet opening lap.
The safety car was deployed after Carlos Sainz span out following contact with Daniel Ricciardo, who was nudged from behind by Valtteri Bottas at the Variante Tamburello.
Leclerc got past Norris on lap eight but was already six seconds adrift of Verstappen, with the Dutchman only building on his lead after changing for slick tyres on lap 20.
Perez, who quickly regained second after losing out to Leclerc in the pits, produced some excellent defence to keep the Ferrari at bay despite a trip across the grass before DRS was belatedly enabled just after the halfway point.
Leclerc set the fastest lap but ended up losing track position when he span into the barriers on lap 53, with Verstappen taking the extra point after changing to soft tyres.
Horrible day for Hamilton
Having been a non-factor in Saturday's sprint race, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton started 14th. That was where he remained when he crossed the line as he failed to find a way past Pierre Gasly, though he officially finished 13th due to a time penalty for Esteban Ocon because of an unsafe release by his Alpine team.
Hamilton also suffered the ignominy of being lapped by Verstappen on lap 40 while George Russell was able to take a commendable fourth.
Aston Martin off the mark
Alexander Albon finishing 10th at the Australian Grand Prix meant Aston Martin were the only team without a point this season.
Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll combined to ensure that did not go on any longer. Vettel finished eighth, while Stroll was 10th to move the team above Williams in the constructors' standings.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +16.527s
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +34.834s
4. George Russell (Mercedes) +42.506s
5. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +43.181s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +56.072s
7. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +61.110s
8. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +70.892s
9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +75.260s
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1 lap
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 86
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 59
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 54
4. George Russell (Mercedes) 49
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 38
Constructors
1. Ferrari 124
2. Red Bull 113
3. Mercedes 77
4. McLaren 46
5. Alfa Romeo 25
WHAT'S NEXT?
F1® heads to a fourth continent of the season for race number five, with the Miami Grand Prix making its debut in two weeks.
LAP 54/53
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 24, 2022
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
