Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
Sport
PTI

Verstappen wins at Imola on nightmare day for Ferrari

World champion Max Verstappen took maximum points from Formula One’s Imola sprint weekend, leading a dominant Red Bull one-two on Sunday as Ferrari’s homecoming turned sour for overall leader Charles Leclerc and his Italian team.

Mexican Sergio Perez finished runner-up in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, 16.527 seconds behind the Dutch driver, with Lando Norris repeating last year’s third place to claim McLaren’s first podium of the season.

Championship leader Leclerc, winner of two of the first three races, fought back to sixth place after a late spin while running in third.

His Spanish team mate Carlos Sainz went out in an opening lap collision.

Verstappen, who took the maximum eight points on Saturday for winning a sprint race from pole, also took a bonus point on Sunday for the fastest lap and is now 27 points adrift of Leclerc.

“That was a very lovely Sunday,” the 24-year-old said over the team radio after his second win of the season and only his second finish.

“It’s always tough to achieve something like that but already yesterday, and the day before, we were on it and it was looking like a strong weekend.”

Ferrari’s lead over Red Bull in the constructors standings was slashed to 11 points.

George Russell was fourth for Mercedes, with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas fifth and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda seventh and Sebastian Vettel eighth for Aston Martin.

Kevin Magnussen was ninth for Haas and Lance Stroll took the final point for Aston Martin.

Mercedes’ seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton was lapped by Verstappen after 41 of the 63 laps and finished 13th, gaining a place at the finish when Alpine’s Esteban Ocon had a penalty added.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.