F1: Verstappen takes it to the max at Imola, closes in on Leclerc

The rivalry between the two drivers is heating up even more, with Leclerc holding just a 27-point lead over the reigning champ.

For the Tifosi, Ferrari’s red-swathed rabid fan base, this weekend’s Formula One event at Imola was supposed to be a three-day party.

But while a Ferrari win would have made the fans forget the cold and wet weather, in the end it was Max Verstappen’s Red Bull orange army who got sent home the happiest.

The reigning champion was dominant as he became the first driver to win the newly minted F1 “super” grand slam, qualifying on pole, winning both the sprint qualifying and Grand Prix, and taking fastest lap of the weekend.

All in all, it added up to 34 points for the Dutchman, who now trails Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 27 for the driver’s championship.

Verstappen’s season so far consists of two victories and two non-finishes due to mechanical issues, so it now falls on Leclerc to prove Verstappen can be beaten on track and not only by his own car failing.

Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, came home second following his third-place effort in Saturday’s sprint, meaning Red Bull was just one short of the maximum possible point haul for the weekend.

With four races in the books, it’s starting to look more and more like Verstappen and Leclerc will be the two to challenge for the championship. Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate, Carlos Sainz, had his miserable weekend come to an end on the first lap of the Grand Prix, after being taken out by Mclaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who drove over too much of the curb and slid into the Ferrari.

Sainz ended up beached in the gravel with his race over, and while Ricciardo was able to continue, damage to the car kept him from threatening the top 10. After the race, Ricciardo took the blame for the incident and said he planned on going to see Sainz to apologize.

Whatever hope remained for the Tifosi ended on lap 53, when it was Leclerc’s turn to misjudge the curb, causing his car to spin off the course and tap the barriers. While he was able to keep the car going, the damage necessitated an extra stop to replace the nose, and he emerged from pit lane in ninth, eventually finishing in sixth.

While Ferrari seems to have a car capable of winning on any given week, right now Verstappen is the man to beat – as long as the car holds together.

Through the field

The rain-affected, two-day qualifying gave a different look to the starting grid, with Kevin Magnussen in fourth (the highest ever achieved by a Haas car) and Mick Schumacher starting a personal best 10th.

The race itself was unfortunately a return to the norm for the two drivers, with Schumacher finishing 17th, ahead of only the damaged Daniel Ricciardo, and Magnussen holding on for two points in ninth position.

Following an early season bout with Covid, Sebastian Vettel appeared to be getting back to his normal self, and his eighth-place finish along with teammate Lance Stroll’s 10th gave Aston Martin its first points of the season.

Lando Norris has been spending most of this year bemoaning the weakness of the McLaren car, but Leclerc’s spin allowed him a mostly unchallenged trip to the podium in third. Sergio Perez aptly summed up the results after the race when he said, “rule number one of these conditions is to finish”

Up next

After spending the weekend shivering in Imola, in two weeks the teams will get their first official taste of the Florida sun at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. Red Bull looks like they can’t wait to continue their work.