Apr 25

Apr 25 Max Verstappen seals grand slam with Imola race win as Ferrari falters

Max Verstappen has sealed a grand slam in Imola after winning the Emilia Romagna grand prix in dominant fashion.

Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium in Imola. *(Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)*

Verstappen started in first after winning the sprint race, and ran out a dominant lead over teammate Sergio Perez who finished second in a one-two for Red Bull.

It was a nightmare for Ferrari at their home race, with Carlos Sainz taken out in the opening lap in a collision with Daniel Ricciardo, while Charles Leclerc spun while chasing down Perez, gifting the final podium position to Lando Norris.

The race started in wet conditions with a drying track, with the field leaving the grid on intermediate tyres.

As the threat of further rain dissipated it gave teams more confidence to pit for slicks, with Sainz pitting a lap earlier than Leclerc and briefly losing the on-track advantage until the Mexican brought the tryes into operating temperature and easily returned to the second step on the podium.

With worse tyre wear than his rivals, Charles Leclerc made a last-ditch strategy gamble to pit again for soft tyres.

The undercut was powerful for the Ferrari driver, catching up to the rear of Perez before he threw away his chance of a podium finish with a spin at Variante Alta.

Norris made the most of his quiet race to slip into the final podium position, while George Russell held off a determined late-race challenge from Valtteri Bottas to claim fourth.

Max Verstappen leads teammate Sergio Perez during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. *(Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)*

Championship leader Leclerc was able to recover to sixth at the chequered flag, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Sebastian Vettel, who earned his first championship points so far this year.

Leclerc maintains his hold of the championship after his dominant start to the season, holding 86 points ahead of Max Verstappen on 59 points.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was last of the classified runners in eighteenth after a final experimental pit stop for hard tyres didn't pay off for the McLaren driver.

The 2022 Formula 1 season returns 6-8 May for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

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2022 Formula 1 World Championship - Emilia Romagna Grand Prix