Lap 10 of 63: Carlos Sainz is in sixth but pushing Fernando Alonso in what is a crowded pack behind George Russell. Lando Norris is on the heels of the Mercedes man, who tells the team radio he’s pushing too hard to make his pit-stop target.
Formula One: Max Verstappen leads Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix – live updates | Formula One
Published: 2025-05-18 14:18:40 | Views: 2
Key events
Lap 8 of 63: This is Red Bull’s 400th Formula One race and it’s going well with Verstappen out in front – although Tsunoda is only 19th after starting from the pit lane.
Lap 6 of 63: Here’s how they stand early on…
1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Russell 4. Norris 5. Alonso 6. Sainz 7. Albon 8. Stroll 9. Leclerc 10. Hadjar 11. Antonelli 12. Hamilton
Lap 5 of 63: George Russell wasn’t impressed by Piastri’s start, asking “what is he doing?” over the Mercedes team radio.
Lap 4 of 63: Verstappen sets the fastest lap and has opened a 1.5s lead over Piastri. Was the Australian too cautious in his start, or was Verstappen simply too good?
Lap 2 of 63: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly runs wide and onto the gravel – as will happen if you mistime your passing move – and drops down the field.
Lap 1 of 63: Not a huge amount of shuffling further down the pack, although Charles Leclerc has moved up to 10th. Kimi Antonelli, who is from nearby Bologna, is testing fans’ loyalties by getting in front of Lewis Hamilton.
Lights out
Verstappen gets alongside Piastri at the first turn and times his move perfectly to get in front at the Tamburello chicane. The defending champion leads – could that be a big moment in the title race? George Russell was pushing for second but is boxed in by Verstappen’s move.
The formation lap is under way, and we’ll get a look at tyre strategies – everyone above Lewis Hamilton in 12th is starting on mediums, while the Briton starts on hard tyres, looking at a later pit stop than those ahead of him on the grid. Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda are also starting on hards. It’s sunny and a balmy 23 degrees at Imola, with a record 240,000 crowd in attendance.
Pre-race thoughts from Lando Norris: “I just want to have a fun race and to try and get forward and do some overtakes, I’m still aiming for a podium and a good result.” Imola is a famously tricky track for overtaking, so Norris will be looking to make an early move.
And George Russell, who starts one place ahead of Norris in third: The aim has definitely got to be the podium, how we achieve that I’m not too sure. We need to see at the beginning, obviously Lando is starting behind and I will do my best to keep him there.”
Lewis Hamilton is enjoying his first race in Italy as a Ferrari driver, even if their car is badly underperforming. “It’s such an honour to be here, I’m filming everything because it’s the first time seeing everyone here,” Hamilton said. “I really want to give [the fans]. the best race possible today. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, so I will take that energy and keep pushing. We never give up and we’re going to get there.”
Ollie Bearman is the back marker on the grid, but Haas have asked the FIA for written clarification of the decision that saw their driver just miss out on a place in Q2. Bearman had his fastest lap deleted when he crossed the line a fraction after the first qualifying session was stopped due to Franco Colapinto’s heavy crash.
Haas said they had sought clarification after discussions with the FIA on Saturday night. “We similarly asked what measures the FIA/Race Control can put in place moving forward to ensure that this situation is avoided in the future to the benefit of F1,” the team added, in quotes reported by Reuters.
The FIA said Bearman crossed the line 3.3 seconds after the red flag signal was shown but the driver said he had not seen a light. “We get the red light on our dash. That for me didn’t happen until quite a way after I crossed the line,” he said. “I feel like once they make a decision, even if it’s clearly wrong, they’re not going to turn back on it.”
Colapinto, who has replaced Jack Doohan in the Alpine paddock, picked up a one-place grid penalty for inadvertently entering the pit fast lane too early after Yuki Tsunoda’s crash. The Argentinian will now start in 16th place.
Imola’s Formula One history is tinged with tragedy, and the circuit’s future looks uncertain with no deal agreed beyond this year – but it has still delivered some extraordinary moments:
The grid
-
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
-
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
-
George Russell (Mercedes)
-
Lando Norris (McLaren)
-
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
-
Carlos Sainz (Williams)
-
Alex Albon (Williams)
-
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
-
Isack Hadjar (RacingBulls)
-
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
-
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
-
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
-
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
-
Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
-
Liam Lawson (RacingBulls)
-
Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
-
Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber)
-
Esteban Ocon (Haas)
-
Oliver Bearman (Haas)
-
Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – pit lane
Preamble
Welcome to Imola, where Oscar Piastri continues his world title tilt on pole after just pipping the defending champion, Max Verstappen, in qualifying. The Thunder from Down Under (as I’m christening Piastri in the hope it catches on) has won four of the season’s first six races, including the last three in Bahrain, Jeddah and Miami.
The Australian appears to have overtaken Lando Norris as McLaren’s leading man, but can he continue his red-hot grand prix form as F1 begins its European swing? Norris has endured another frustrating weekend trailing his teammate, and starts fourth on the grid today, with Mercedes’ George Russell alongside him in third.
Verstappen, pole-sitter in the last two races but beaten by Piastri, will be eager to respond in kind with a third straight win at Imola; his Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, starts from the pit lane after a big crash in qualifying. Aston Martin impressed, with Fernando Alonso fifth and Lance Stroll eighth, sandwiching the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
As for Ferrari, returning to home turf has been a chastening experience, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both failing to make it out of Q2 and starting 11th and 12th today. Can they give fans at Imola anything to cheer, or will Italy have to start claiming Piastri as one of their own? We’ll find out soon enough; lights out at 2pm BST.
Source link
