
The Red Bull and Formula 1 icon 1 Max Verstappen claimed a dramatic and unexpected victory to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, turning down the weekend of low expectations into a celebration for itself and Red Bull Racing.
Verstappen and his team are heading to Imola and were not sure of their competitiveness. The first session provided little confidence, and the car seemed less sensitive than required for a tight and demanding circuit. But things have changed with the qualification procedure, with Verstappen managed to extract a strong pace in one round –Enough to ensure a place near the front of the grid.
“Before I got here this weekend, I really didn’t have a lot of hope that we could really win the race. But then I think the car has been more competitive in one round since yesterday,” Verstappen said after the race.
“As soon as I braked late and then came out of the brakes, I felt like, ok, he could move. So I just transferred speed. And fortunately it basically glued. It’s not easy, but fortunately everything went well,” he added.
At the beginning of the Verstappen race, he didn’t waste time. With a bold commitment to the opening corners, he made a decisive step at the Oscar Poastri pole sitter and set the tone for a high -pressure afternoon. This early overtaking proved to be crucial when Verstappen was constantly pulling through the clean air.
Despite the interruption of the middle race safety car, which neutralized its advantage, Verstappen maintained control. Lando Norris moved to the second place in the last rounds and walked through the Piastri teammate, but even McLaren was unable to lead a serious challenge.
Tactics also played a key role in victory. While several drivers, including Piastri, soon stood up to switch to hard tires, Verstappen remained on the media longer. This strategy paid off when the virtual security car in the 29th round – launched retirement Esteban Ocon – filled him to stop the drink with minimal time lost and reconnected the race with healthy leadership.
Victory, the second season of Verstappen, was particularly important for Red Bull and marked their 400. Grand Prix start with victory. It also helped him close the gap in the ranking of only nine points behind the leader Lando Norris, while the Oscar Piastri sat four more points back.
Even Verstappen admitted that victory caught him out of sight when he arrived in Italy with little belief that the best result was possible. But with looking for a car at the right moment and his execution of the race near Flawless, he left Imola with a decisive 25 points – and firmly firmly back on his side.
Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
May 19, 2025