Max Verstappen wins the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, bolstering his chances of retaining the Formula 1 drivers’ world title.
Verstappen’s second victory of the season follows two retirements, as Red Bull responded to their reliability concerns with a strong performance in a race that had rain on the cards.
The Dutchman led Red Bull to their first one-two result since October 2016, cruising to victory over teammate Sergio Perez at Imola. Red Bull had an Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to remember, taking maximum points with Perez in P2 and Verstappen taking P1, P1 in Sprint, pole position, and the fastest lap.
Leclerc had been on track for P3, but he squandered a podium result with a costly late spin when he followed after Perez late in the race. The Ferrari driver recovered to finish sixth, but Verstappen shortened his advantage to 27 points in the drivers’ standings.
Carlos Sainz retired on the opening lap when Daniel Ricciardo drove him around into a gravel trap. It was a terrible day for Ferrari at the first of two home races in 2022.
Lando Norris finished third, while George Russell finished fourth in his Mercedes starting from eleventh place, holding off a late charge from Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo.
Russell did much better than his more famous teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had a bad day and finished 13th.