This weekend’s Imola Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen regain the top step from Lando Norris who finished second. Charles Leclerc found himself on the bottom step, taking third place in front of the Tifosi.
Close Finish
Max Verstappen finished in first place, but only by seven-tenths of a second. Verstappen’s two or three-lap younger tires may have given him all that he needed to finish ahead. Norris had a lot of mishaps, whether it was going too high on the curb or snapping coming out of an exit. He just pushed a little too hard in some areas, and it cost him the possible win. Red Bull was struggling to get the car going all weekend, as Verstappen was complaining all three days. Even with the new upgrades Red Bull put on the car, they were still struggling. McLaren’s new upgrades have put them on par with Ferrari and Red Bull, so we’ll see where that goes in the future. Especially next year and when the regulations change in 2026. That’s probably when you’re going to see the biggest chance of the possible three-way fight, maybe even a four-way fight if Mercedes can get it together. But if you had to take one thing out of that race, it’s that the Austrian team is beatable. But Verstappen is not.
Ferrari vs McLaren
The story of Sunday’s race was Ferrari vs McLaren. Both teams tried the overcut, the undercut, etc. They did whatever they could to top one another. When Norris went for his pitstop, he came out behind Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. That would’ve helped Ferrari perform the overcut because Lando would’ve been losing time. But, Norris got around Perez in about a lap and a half. Leclerc and Norris met again later in the race. They were fighting until Lando decided he liked his pair of hard tires, flipped on a switch and just drove away. He dropped Leclerc like a sack of potatoes and finished nearly eight seconds ahead. The battle between the two teams is going to be really entertaining. Who can scramble to get second place, maybe even first?
Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez is in the last year of his contract with Red Bull. Verstappen has out-performed him during his entire stint at the team, however, he was a great #2 driver and could finish second in the Drivers’ Championship. But, those times have changed, as last season, he had his qualifying woes, bad finishes, and nearly lost second place in the championship to Lewis Hamilton. Those qualifying conundrums crept back on Saturday, as he qualified in 11th place.
Perez then was passed by every McLaren or Ferrari who attempted an overtake during the race on Sunday. Perez was even overtaken back-to-back. It could be because he had old hard tires, but he didn’t even have the pace to keep up with the Mercedes. He also went off in the Rivazza gravel trap in turns 16, 17, and 18 on Lap 17. Sergio finished a whole 55 seconds behind Verstappen and lost second place in the Drivers’ Championship to Charles Leclerc. He needs to snap out of this quickly as if he has another year like last, he could very well lose his seat.
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