BREAKING: Hamilton slapped with 3-place grid penalty in Monaco after blocking Verstappen
BREAKING: Hamilton slapped with 3-place grid penalty in Monaco after blocking Verstappen
—shakes up Sunday’s.
Imola last year — a powerful tribute to the Brazilian legend and Roland Ratzenberger. 🙌🥹
Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, is Red Bull best car after McLaren issues at Imola, analysis, Oscar Piastri, latest news
Piastri takes podium as Max claims GP | 00:47
Michael Lamonato from Fox Sports
May 21st, 2025 8:00 am
It’s never a great day when you turn pole position into a mere podium finish, but the significance of McLaren’s defeat in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix runs deeper.
After dominating the opening phase of the season, winning five from six grands prix, the warm climes of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna should have offered it yet another chance to stretch its advantage.
Instead it was beaten in the race — and beaten comprehensively.
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Max Verstappen led every lap with a margin that at one point stretched past 20 seconds. Despite McLaren having a two-to-one advantage with both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the fight, neither driver could lay a glove on the reigning world champion.
It was a remarkable aberration on the season to date, and not just because Verstappen won.
After all, the Dutchman was already a winner this season — at the Japanese Grand Prix, where be backed up a perfect qualifying lap with a flawless Sunday performance to keep both McLaren cars bottled up behind him for the duration of the race.
But that win was hard-fought and against the run of form in Suzuka.
Imola was a cruise in a Red Bull Racing car that had an answer for whatever McLaren threw at it.
That’s why this result is so intriguing — and, for McLaren, potentially worrying.
Red Bull Racing was genuinely competitive. It won meritoriously, on pure pace.
So is Verstappen really back in the championship fight?
Understanding the dynamics at play in Imola w
ill give us the beginnings of an answer.
