Emilia Romagna GP Results: Max Verstappen Holds Off Lando Norris For Imola Victory
Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the iconic Imola circuit. Joining the Red Bull driver in the podium celebrations were Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc who crossed the line in second and third position, respectively.
What happened during the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix?
Lap 1: A nice clean start sees Max Verstappen maintain his lead from Lando Norris in second position. Both RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo lost two positions on the start.
Lap 5: Verstappen has now extended his lead to 1.5 seconds on Norris.
Lap 10: Disaster for Alex Albon as the Thai-British driver is the first to pit. However, the Williams team send him back out with a tire which is not attached properly. Albon manages to make his way back to the pits without disrupting the race but is now running a long way behind.
Lap 14: Fernando Alonso reports that his front left brakes are on fire as he exits the pit lane. The brakes seem to cool down as he continues with the race, currently in 19th position.
Lap 15: Verstappen now has a lead of 4.829 seconds as he extends his lead. Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz continue the fight for fourth position as the Australian driver has DRS on the Ferrari.
Investigation: Williams is under investigation for Albon's unsafe release.
Lap 18: Sergio Perez runs wide and into the gravel at the first Rivazza. The Mexican driver manages to avoid a collision but continues to run in eighth position with roughly a 14-second gap to Lewis Hamilton.
Penalty: Albon is handed a ten-second penalty for the unsafe release.
Lap 24: Lando Norris pits from second position. He comes out just behind Perez which could be good news for the Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as Norris now has to battle with the Mexican driver.
Lap 24: Norris manages to overtake Perez later on in the lap. Max Verstappen has been shown the black and white flag for track limits - this is a final warning so one more instance exceeding the track limits will result in a penalty.
Lap 25: Verstappen pits from the lead and comes out in fourth position.
Lap 26: Carles Leclerc is the next to pit from the front of the grid and comes out behind Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.
Lap 27: Lewis Hamilton runs wide at Turn 15 and goes off onto the gravel. The British driver avoids collision and continues with the race.
Lap 32: Alex Albon has now pit 4 times, one to serve the ten-second penalty. He now has to make medium tires last for 30 laps as the hard tires were damaged when they were not attached properly. He has also reported engine issues to the team. It is currently unclear whether he will continue with the race or retire.
Lap 35: Lando Norris claims he has "no pace" to McLaren. He is currently running in second position, 6 seconds behind Max Verstappen and 2.8 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc in third.
Lap 48: In his fight with Lando Norris for second position, Leclerc had managed to get within the DRS zone. However, the Monegasque runs onto the grass at the chicane and moves out of the DRS zone.
Lap 53: Max Verstappen, who is still leading the race, reports that his "tires don't work".
Lap 55: Norris is now gaining on Verstappen, the gap between the two drivers is now 2.4 seconds.
Lap 55: Williams decides to retire Alex Albon from the race.
Lap 61: Three laps to go and although Norris has been closing the gap to Verstappen, he has reported increased tire wear.
2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Results
1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Oscar Piastri
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. George Russell - Fastest Lap
8. Sergio Perez
9. Lance Stroll
10. Yuki Tsunoda
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Kevin Magnussen
13. Daniel Ricciardo
14. Esteban Ocon
15. Zhou Guanyu
16. Pierre Gasly
17. Logan Sargeant
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Fernando Alonso
20. Alex Albon - DNF