Super Max is back with a vengeance.
The Max Verstappen that eats, sleeps and breathes auto racing has returned from breaking the GT3 lap record on the Nurburgring Nordschleife under the pseudonym Franz Hermann last week and competing in iRacing in his spare time to winning the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday in Imola for the fourth consecutive year.
Verstappen, who started on the front row in second, saw an opening and breezed by pole-sitter Oscar Piastri through the Tamburello chicane on the opening lap.
Unlike earlier this season in Saudi Arabia, where Piastri held firm and Verstappen was forced off the track, the McLaren driver said he hit the brakes early, leaving the door open for the Red Bull to make a clean getaway. Not that Verstappen needed it, as let’s face it, there’s a good chance he would have gone for it whether the gap was there or not. (In which case, we would have been talking about the return of Mad Max.)
Verstappen’s pit stops also aligned with both the virtual and actual safety car periods, allowing him to minimize time lost on the track. It still came down to a shootout to the finish once the race returned to green with 10 laps remaining, but Verstappen left the McLarens of Piastri and Lando Norris in the dust.
That was more like the Verstappen we’ve known as the four-time reigning world champion led all 63 laps with a vintage performance.
“Once we got into the lead I think we showed what we could do with the pace of the car and I could push quite nicely,” Verstappen said, according to formula1.com. “The race was a lot more promising than what I expected, which was really good for us, and the car felt a lot more stable.
“We have clearly made a step forward with the setup of the car. … I am really happy with this result and from the team’s side we did everything well: good strategy, good pit stops and really calm communication everywhere, which is what you need in a successful race. It was a big weekend for us and good to see that the upgrades worked on the car.”
Piastri dropped to third as he was left out on older tires and Norris, on a fresher set, swept past him with the drag reduction system (DRS) activated and the slipstream on Lap 58. Verstappen was already five seconds clear and the gap was too much for Norris to overcome as he settled for second.
As Red Bull Racing celebrated its milestone 400th race, Verstappen scored his 65th career victory and a 124th win for the team. That’s a 31 per cent success rate for the energy drink juggernaut. Not too shabby.
Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda also recovered from a horrific crash during qualifying, starting last on the grid, to finish in the points in 10th place. A solid performance for Tsunoda and a great effort from the team to get the car back into working order overnight.
Papaya doesn’t rule
The McLarens couldn’t match Verstappen’s pace, however, the team’s strategy calls didn’t do them any favours.
Piastri pitted early but ended up stuck in traffic once he returned to the track. That allowed Verstappen to continue pulling away and gave him enough of a time advantage that he could pit under the virtual safety car (VSC) period on Lap 29 without relinquishing the lead. Norris was also a bit unlucky as he pitted just before the VSC.
McLaren was also unwilling to let Piastri step aside and let Norris have a go at Verstappen after the final restart. Norris had to earn it on the track, but that wasted four laps in the process with Verstappen already in the distance.
Red Bull’s upgrades that have Verstappen finding his form again are worrisome for McLaren, especially when team principal Andrea Stella told formula1.com he was “a little surprised” by the performance, but is this a one-off or the start of a trend? If it’s the latter, McLaren will have to smarten up to fend off a raging Red Bull.
Seeing red
All eyes at Imola were on Ferrari with the Tifosi fanbase out in full force as usual at the track closest to the team’s Maranello home. As if you needed a reminder, let’s not forget the circuit, Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, is named after the team’s founder and his son.
So it’s no wonder things were grim on Saturday as both Ferrari drivers failed to advance to the final round of qualifying, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton starting 11th and 12th, respectively.
How things can quickly change as both cars had good pace and the strategy calls went Ferrari’s way for once Sunday.
It still wasn’t quite perfect. Leclerc was running fourth until things got dicey on Lap 60 with Alex Albon, leading to the Williams running through the dirt. (Yes, Ferrari and Williams are fighting like it’s 1997 again.) A surging Hamilton then swooped by Albon, and the seven-time world champion also passed Leclerc on the following lap.
With the incident under investigation, Ferrari wisely told Leclerc to hand over fifth place to Albon. While Leclerc was understandably upset, the team was concerned he’d receive a five-second time penalty and possibly lose even more places; a small price to pay.
Ferrari still needs to improve in qualifying, especially with Monaco — a track even worse than Imola to overtake — next on the schedule.
Mercedes feels the heat
Three Mercedes-powered cars finished in the top five with Piastri, Norris and Albon, but what about the actual Mercedes team?
George Russell, who started third, crossed the line seventh as his car had problems with the heat, leading to his first finish outside of the top five this season.
“I struggled with the rear end of the car from the beginning and was not able to get into a good rhythm,” Russell said in a team release. “With a relatively high track temperature, we were suffering from overheating on the rear axle. It was therefore tough to keep the tyres in the right window, and the pace reflected that. We couldn’t match the leaders’ pace, so it was very much damage limitation.”
Rookie teammate Kimi Antonelli was racing in his first home event, but a difficult qualifying effort starting 13th on the grid was compounded by throttle issues that forced him to retire his car on Lap 45.
Mercedes is still a distant second in the constructors’ championship, but now has Red Bull Verstappen in the rearview mirror in the standings. (Considering Verstappen accounts for 95 per cent of his team’s points, it’s really one car Mercedes has to worry about.)
Oh no, Alonso
You have to feel bad for Fernando Alonso, who was in a prime position to score his first points of the season after qualifying fifth.
The team opted for a one-stop strategy that unravelled as soon as Esteban Ocon’s DNF brought out the virtual safety car on Lap 30. That allowed others to make a “cheap” pit for fresher tires while Alonso, who had already pitted earlier, stayed out to maintain track position.
“I’m unluckiest driver in the (expletive) world,” Alonso lamented on the team radio.
Once the race returned to green, Alonso fell behind those with fresher tires.
The 44-year-old pitted again on Lap 46 and played catchup, but it was too late to get back into the top 10. Alonso finished just on the outside in 11th, and to add salt to the wound, he was just under a second behind Tsunoda for the final points-paying position.
This is Alonso’s longest pointless streak to start a season since his disastrous “McHonda” era in 2017.
Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll also suffered from the unlucky break. The Canadian driver started eighth and dropped to 15th.
Well, at least the team’s upgrades looked promising when things went their way.
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