Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola after a thrilling move for the race lead in the opening corner of the race. He was followed by the McLarens, led by Lando Norris, as Oscar Piastri faced a lot of trouble with the strategy and the VSC and the safety car.
The entire race was highly dependent on the teams’ strategy. While most of the cars started the race on Medium tyres, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton and a few others, there were some mixed strategies that mixed up the field towards the end of the race.
Strategy Battle for the lead in Imola
The race in Imola was all about the strategy. With Verstappen in control of the race in front, Piastri was not able to stay close in the Red Bull’s dirty air. He decided to pit early to attempt an undercut. But the medium tyres, which Verstappen started out on, were good enough in clean air, and he was able to stay out until lap 29. By then, Piastri was charging through the field, overtaking all the midfielders on a one-stop strategy.
However, Verstappen took advantage of a safety car and a VSC to take the win in Imola. Norris did the same and was able to take 2nd place after overtaking his teammate towards the end of the race. The strategy just didn’t work out for Piastri at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 63/63)
P4 for Hamilton, his best race result for Ferrari so far 👏
Double points for Williams 💪#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/W4cuxhJR3s— Formula 1 (@F1) May 18, 2025
After the race, Piastri himself accepted his hard luck. Here’s what he said:
“Just braked too early, it was a good move by Max as well. Disappointing, obviously, and then we made a few wrong calls after that. Not our best Sunday, lots to look at and review after that one. We’ll see what we can do a bit better.”
“It was tricky, the VSC was perfectly timed for Max and Lando, and I had used both my tyres at that point, so it made my last race start tricky, I didn’t have enough grip, so third it is.”
Despite a 3rd place finish, Piastri continues to lead the Championship by 13 points to Norris and 22 points to Verstappen.
Incredible comeback for Ferrari
After a poor qualifying performance on Saturday, both the Ferraris were starting outside the top 10 for the race today. With Leclerc starting on mediums and Hamilton on hards, Ferrari decided to have a bold strategy for both their drivers. They pitted Leclerc early as he managed to undercut George Russell, who was battling for 4th.
Hamilton, on the other hand, stayed out as he was on the hard tyres. The VSC and Safety Car played perfectly into their hands as Hamilton was able to finish 4th with Leclerc in 6th. The former was unable to get fresh tyres during the safety car; his side of the garage did not have a compound that would go the distance. Either way, a 6th-place finish after starting 11th on the grid is impressive.
Albon chasing down Leclerc for fourth…
It nearly ends in tears as he slips back to sixth behind Hamilton!#F1 #ImolaGP pic.twitter.com/fHwNj0Ez2z
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 18, 2025
The Williams hype train continues to charge ahead. Sainz made the same mistake as Piastri by trying to get an undercut done. Albon drove brilliantly and looked good for a 4th place finish. However, Hamilton was able to get past him during the final stint as Albon ran off the road while attempting to get past Leclerc on old tyres. He eventually did, but was unable to catch up to Hamilton, who had charged ahead.
Heading into the race, many didn’t expect too many overtakes. But with the difference in strategies, we saw some impressive moves from a lot of drivers. But the best move of all was the one by Max Verstappen, where he slithered past Piastri to take the race win. If he had not got past the Aussie, then the race would have been in McLaren’s hands.
Now we head to Monaco for the 8th round of the 2025 F1 season. This could be an interesting one as the FIA has introduced a new rule change specially for Monaco, where each driver will have to complete 2 mandatory pit stops.
Who was your driver of the day for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix? Post your answers in the comments section below.
