Imola - Race

The Tifosi gathered on the grounds of the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari had their hearts shattered during Saturday's qualifying, as they saw their drivers qualify in P11 and P12. They prayed that their beloved team would be able to undo at least a part of the damage on Sunday, during the 63 laps set underneath the Italian sun. At the same time, those supporting Red Bull and McLaren held their breath, all hoping that it would be their driver taking the victory home. 

Oscar Piastri, the polesitter, had a good launch off the line. Max Verstappen didn't manage to immediately get close and got attacked by George Russell behind him. But then, as the trio approached the first turn, Verstappen performed an impressive move around the outside and took the lead of the race. There weren't many other overtakes over the course of the first lap, with the most notable being Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly moving past Isack Hadjar, and Kimi Antonelli overtaking the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. 

Leclerc saw an opportunity to move up a place and began attacking the Alpine in front of him. They battled for a couple of corners before Gasly went off track and fell all the way to P14. Meanwhile, in the front, Norris was creeping in on his teammate. He didn't manage to get close enough for an overtake, but the tension between the two McLarens did allow Fernando Alonso to catch up to the action. 

On lap 11, to the surprise of most people watching, Leclerc drove into the pits for his first change of tires. Despite a lightning-quick stop, he fell all the way to P17. The decision seemed questionable for a while, but in the following laps, many of his immediate competitors also decided to get rid of their medium tires. In the end, thanks to his stop, Leclerc found himself ahead of Russell, Sainz, and Alonso. Out of those who decided to pit, the only driver who remained in front of him was Piastri.

But not all frontrunners got rid of their tires. Drivers such as Verstappen, Norris, Antonelli, or Hamilton stayed out much longer than the rest and comfortably moved through the field as those behind them focused on overtaking everyone who had not yet stopped. After his pit stop, Piastri fell to P12, but by lap 28, he was already in P4, with only Albon, Norris, and Verstappen separating him from the lead. Behind him, Leclerc and Russell were also making steady progress through the field. 

Norris decided to pit at the end of lap 28. The decision turned out to be a huge mistake as, right when he was rejoining the race, Esteban Ocon's Haas malfunctioned and left him stranded on the grass by Prato Tosa. His incident brought out a yellow flag and a virtual safety car, under which all the drivers who had not yet changed their tires could do so without losing much time. It was the perfect opportunity for Verstappen to easily stay in the lead. Most of those who had first pitted around lap 11 also made their way back to the pit lane, often while losing track position. After the safety car reshuffle, the top ten was as follows: Verstappen, Norris, Albon, Piastri, Hadjar, Antonelli, Hamilton, Alonso, Stroll, and Leclerc. 

As soon as the safety car ended, the drivers, eager for some good old-fashioned racing, began attacking. Leclerc found a way past both Aston Martins, while his teammate managed to reclaim the position he had lost to the young Antonelli. He then went on to overtake Hadjar. Russell moved past both Astons, while Leclerc chased down Antonelli and Hadjar, putting the two Ferraris side by side. 

On lap 40, Piastri moved past Albon, fighting his way back onto the podium in the process. Only a few laps later, Antonelli's Mercedes began slowing down and then stopped only a few meters away from the spot where Ocon had retired before. The Italian was unable to finish his home race due to a mechanical issue. The end of his race brought out another yellow flag and a full safety car. Once again, a lot of the drivers jumped at the opportunity to change their tires. After the second reshuffle, the top ten changed once more, this time made up of Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Albon, Russell, Hamilton, Sainz, Hadjar, and Hulkenberg. Some drivers, like Verstappen, Norris, and Albon, bolted on new tires, while others, like Piastri or Leclerc, stayed on their used ones. 

The safety car dove into the pit lane at the end of lap 53. Verstappen took the bunched pack back to full racing speed and immediately built a gap to Piastri, who couldn't quite match his pace on his old hards. The only quick change in the top 10 was Tsunoda moving up to P10. 

On lap 57, Hamilton moved past his old teammate, Russell. In front of him, Albon had his eyes set on the Ferrari of Leclerc. Although he tried to get by on multiple occasions, he wasn't able to find a way through. On lap 60, he attempted an overtake into the first corner and ended up going off track. Hamilton was quick to take to chance to get in front of him. A lap later, the Brit overtook his teammate and moved up to P6. With Ferrari worried that the move that put Albon on the grass would be grounds for a penalty, Leclerc was instructed to let Albon through before the end of the race. 

When it comes to the fight for the win, there was nothing the McLarens could do to catch up to Verstappen. Although Norris did move past Piastri, he wasn't able to decrease the distance between himself and the Red Bull. For the 65th time in his career, Max Verstappen crossed the checkered flag first. Norris and Piastri took up the remaining spots on the podium. 

Order of the grid:

1. Max Verstappen

2. Lando Norris

3. Oscar Piastri

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Alex Albon

6. Charles Leclerc

7. George Russell

8. Carlos Sainz

9. Isack Hadjar

10. Yuki Tsunoda

11. Fernando Alonso

12. Nico Hulkenberg

13. Pierre Gasly

14. Liam Lawson

15. Lance Stroll

16. Franco Colapinto

17. Oliver Bearman

18. Gabriel Bortoleto 

DNF: Kimi Antonelli, Esteban Ocon