Max Verstappen’s dream day in Imola as Piastri ‘caught out sleeping’

Dutch superstar and four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen gave McLaren and Oscar Piastri a lesson in assertiveness to claim victory at Imola in the early hours of Monday morning, and it was his move at the start of the race that had the whole Formula 1 world talking.

Piastri – starting from pole of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and with the lead in the drivers’ championship after three-straight grand prix wins – was stunned going into the famed Tamburello chicane, as Verstappen stormed around the outside and was never headed from that point on.

Max Verstappen was all smiles after his 65th grand prix victory.Credit: Getty Images

It drew the ire of 1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who said, in his typically brutal style on the Sky Sports coverage in the post-race: “Piastri messed up that first corner – he got caught out sleeping – he should never have come out of the corner second.”

But from the opening turn, it was clear Verstappen had a huge pace advantage over the rest of the field – one he hadn’t shown fully in qualifying. Piastri and teammate, and fellow title aspirant, Lando Norris were no match for him, despite the three of them being bunched together behind a late safety car.

What could have been an unlikely sprint for the race win was anything but, with Verstappen dominating the final laps.

Norris ultimately took second off Piastri who looked every bit the sitting duck on faded hard tyres, but Villeneuve said, had McLaren been more ruthless, they would have made Piastri cede the position to Norris sooner.

Verstappen had a day to remember.Credit: Getty Images

“He [Piastri] didn’t have the pace, which was odd – Norris had more pace.

“On the restart, McLaren knew that it was a matter of laps before Norris would overtake Piastri, with the tyre difference. It was obvious.

“So why make him lose three laps instead of giving him a shot at Verstappen? Verstappen is in for the championship – you don’t want to give Verstappen wins, that’s more points for him in the drivers’ championship.”

Piastri, the 24-year-old Bayside Melbourne product, was understandably deflated in talking with former F1 star David Coulthard straight after the race.

“[Being overtaken at the start was] Disappointing, obviously, but I think we made a few wrong calls after that anyway, and, yeah, [it was] not our best Sunday,” he said.

“[There is] definitely a lot of things to look at and review from that one, but well done to Max and Red Bull.

“I thnk it was a good move [at the start], but also they had pace today. We’ll look back at that one and see what we can do a bit better.”

Piastri was among the first to pit, while Verstappen stayed out and reaped the rewards when he lost less time than his competitors in pitting when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 29 for the stricken Esteban Ocon.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were powerless to stop Verstappen.Credit: Getty Images

Villeneuve said McLaren shouldn’t be happy with their drivers finishing second and third.

“McLaren has a car where a good weekend means first and second,” he said.

“Anything less would be disappointing – first and third is barely acceptable, but they shouldn’t be happy with second and third.”

Speaking after his team’s 400th grand prix, and the 65th win of Verstappen’s career, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner spoke about what set the Dutchman, still third in this year’s title race, apart from the rest of the pack – including Piastri and Norris.

“His start and that first corner – it was kind of win it, or bin it,” Horner explained on Sky.

“Oscar was fair and gave him space, but you could see he’s coming from a way back and George [Russell] is up the inside, but he just commits to the corner and was given enough space by Oscar and that was the last they saw of him.

“[Verstappen is] incredibly decisive and he’s just so good in those situations.

“He’s [Piastri is] trying to defend a championship lead – he knows how committed Max is and he saw a gap and he went for it, and that’s just the instinctive racer that Max keeps demonstrating [he is], week in, week out.”

Verstappen crossed the finishing line in just over an hour, 31 minutes and 33 seconds – more than six seconds clear of Norris and 12 clear of Piastri. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in a welcome return to form in front of the home Ferrari fans, less than two seconds behind Piastri, who still holds a 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Norris. Verstappen is nine points further back.

The top three spoke to former F1 star David Coulthard following the race. This is what they had to say:

Not much went right for Oscar Piastri (right) at Imola.Credit: Getty Images

Oscar Piastri (third)

“[Being overtaken at the start was] Disappointing, obviously, but I think we made a few wrong calls after that anyway, and, yeah, [it was] not our best Sunday.

“[There is] definitely a lot of things to look at and review from that one, but well done to Max and Red Bull.

“I thnk it was a good move [at the start], but also they had pace today. We’ll look back at that one and see what we can do a bit better.

“Obvious the VSC [virtual safety car] was perfectly timed for Max and Lando, and I’d already used both my tyres – both my hard tyres – by that point so it made the last restart pretty tricky. I tried my best to hang on to second, but I had nowhere near enough grip, so third it is.

“I tried my best to hang on [late against Norris for second] but I didn’t have the grip.

“It was inevitable, I think, that he was going to get past, but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.”

Lando Norris overtook Oscar Piastri late for second.Credit: Getty Images

Lando Norris (second)

“[It was] not easy to overtake, but we did what we could. I think Max drove a good race – they were quick today, and probably a bit quicker [than us]. We couldn’t keep up.

“We had a good little battle at the end in between Oscar and myself, which is always tense, but always good fun. We had a good race – for us, as a team, second and third is great. Of course you’d love to be up there fighting against Max, but they were too good for us today.”

Max Verstappen won his 65th career F1 grand prix.Credit: Getty Images

Max Verstappen (winner – his 65th grand prix win in Red Bull’s 400th race)

“The start, itself, wasn’t particularly great [for me] but then I was still on the outside line, or basically the normal line, and I said, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside’. It worked really well.

“That, of course, unleashed other things, because once we’re in the lead... the car was good. I could look after my tyres and we had very good pace today.

“Again, [it was a] massive improvement from Friday and I’m very, very pleased with that.

“That VSC was quite handy to pit, and even then – even on the hard compound [tyre] – I think our pace was very strong, but then, of course, there was a safety car so the field was all back together. Even then, on the restart, I think we managed it all really well and brought it home.

“It’s been a very important week for us – the car’s performed really well. I think the execution of the whole race – when to pit, the pit-stops themselves, they were all very good.”

Bye for now

That wraps up our coverage of the race at Imola. Check back in with us next weekend for more from the jewel in the F1 crown – Monaco.

Dutch superstar and four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen gave McLaren and Oscar Piastri a lesson in assertiveness to claim victory at Imola in the early hours of Monday morning, and it was his move at the start of the race that had the whole Formula 1 world talking.

Piastri – starting from pole of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and with the lead in the drivers’ championship after three-straight grand prix wins – was stunned going into the famed Tamburello chicane, as Verstappen stormed around the outside and was never headed from that point on.

Max Verstappen was all smiles after his 65th grand prix victory.Credit: Getty Images

It drew the ire of 1997 Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who said, in his typically brutal style on the Sky Sports coverage in the post-race: “Piastri messed up that first corner – he got caught out sleeping – he should never have come out of the corner second.”

But from the opening turn, it was clear Verstappen had a huge pace advantage over the rest of the field – one he hadn’t shown fully in qualifying. Piastri and teammate, and fellow title aspirant, Lando Norris were no match for him, despite the three of them being bunched together behind a late safety car.

What could have been an unlikely sprint for the race win was anything but, with Verstappen dominating the final laps.

Norris ultimately took second off Piastri who looked every bit the sitting duck on faded hard tyres, but Villeneuve said, had McLaren been more ruthless, they would have made Piastri cede the position to Norris sooner.

Verstappen had a day to remember.Credit: Getty Images

“He [Piastri] didn’t have the pace, which was odd – Norris had more pace.

“On the restart, McLaren knew that it was a matter of laps before Norris would overtake Piastri, with the tyre difference. It was obvious.

“So why make him lose three laps instead of giving him a shot at Verstappen? Verstappen is in for the championship – you don’t want to give Verstappen wins, that’s more points for him in the drivers’ championship.”

Piastri, the 24-year-old Bayside Melbourne product, was understandably deflated in talking with former F1 star David Coulthard straight after the race.

“[Being overtaken at the start was] Disappointing, obviously, but I think we made a few wrong calls after that anyway, and, yeah, [it was] not our best Sunday,” he said.

“[There is] definitely a lot of things to look at and review from that one, but well done to Max and Red Bull.

“I thnk it was a good move [at the start], but also they had pace today. We’ll look back at that one and see what we can do a bit better.”

Piastri was among the first to pit, while Verstappen stayed out and reaped the rewards when he lost less time than his competitors in pitting when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 29 for the stricken Esteban Ocon.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were powerless to stop Verstappen.Credit: Getty Images

Villeneuve said McLaren shouldn’t be happy with their drivers finishing second and third.

“McLaren has a car where a good weekend means first and second,” he said.

“Anything less would be disappointing – first and third is barely acceptable, but they shouldn’t be happy with second and third.”

Speaking after his team’s 400th grand prix, and the 65th win of Verstappen’s career, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner spoke about what set the Dutchman, still third in this year’s title race, apart from the rest of the pack – including Piastri and Norris.

“His start and that first corner – it was kind of win it, or bin it,” Horner explained on Sky.

“Oscar was fair and gave him space, but you could see he’s coming from a way back and George [Russell] is up the inside, but he just commits to the corner and was given enough space by Oscar and that was the last they saw of him.

“[Verstappen is] incredibly decisive and he’s just so good in those situations.

“He’s [Piastri is] trying to defend a championship lead – he knows how committed Max is and he saw a gap and he went for it, and that’s just the instinctive racer that Max keeps demonstrating [he is], week in, week out.”

Verstappen crossed the finishing line in just over an hour, 31 minutes and 33 seconds – more than six seconds clear of Norris and 12 clear of Piastri. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in a welcome return to form in front of the home Ferrari fans, less than two seconds behind Piastri, who still holds a 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Norris. Verstappen is nine points further back.

That’s four wins in a row for Verstappen at Imola – winning by more than six seconds from Norris and Piastri another six seconds adrift of him.

This was far from a disaster for McLaren, but a hell of a reminder of just what Red Bull are capable of.

Piastri never quite had the speed, or the luck, or the tyres today after being caught on the hop by Verstappen on lap one.

Verstappen may not have the quickest car in the field, but he’s got the most proven race-winning ability.

Charles Leclerc is under investigation for forcing Alex Albon off the track, but it could all be for nothing – he’s ceded the fifth position to Albon anyway.

Lewis Hamilton was a man on a mission.Credit: AP

The “Prancing Horse” hasn’t had such a bad time of it today in Italy, after all.

Hamilton and Leclerc looked miles off it earlier in the weekend, but now they’re both set for a top-five finish – with the star Briton just overtaking Leclerc in style after the latter’s intriguing wheel-to-wheel battle with Alex Albon.

Up front, it’s all Verstappen. He’s 6.5 seconds ahead of Norris on the second last lap.

Piastri gave him the room, but you could see it coming – Piastri, on aged hard tyres, didn’t put up a fight as Norris overtook him at the start of lap 58, with the aid of DRS. McLaren really have played that well.

Now Norris has five laps to try and do the unthinkable...

It could be now or never. Will McLaren issue team orders for Piastri? He’s less than a second ahead of Norris on lap 56 of 63. Verstappen is three seconds up the road already.

Verstappen has put more than two seconds on Piastri straight off the restart.

He backed the field up, as was his wont as leader, and played them on a break down the straight.

The McLarens have it all to do here, and they’ll have to be decisive, and soon, if they want Piastri – on badly worn hard rubber – to cede his position to Norris for the fight to the death.

McLaren have always said they have two No.1 drivers. Will they prove it, despite the championship standings?

Dutch superstar Max Verstappen will still have to fight out this race.Credit: AP

Despite all of Verstappen’s dominance, he’ll have to hold off both McLarens in the final 10 laps or so here.

What an incredible situation. The Dutch star has deserved the win ever since he got past Piastri early on lap one, but now he’ll have to fight him off at the end, thanks to an actual (not virtual) safety car.

The thing is, as Lando Norris noted over McLaren team radio despite making a point of saying he wasn’t asking to be let past, Piastri’s tyres are “pretty dead” at this point.

Piastri’s old, hard tyres could work against him in his fight to chase down Verstappen, so could Norris, behind Piastri in third, be the beneficiary of team orders to let him past and go hell for leather for a stunning win?

Amazing drama. As usual.

This is Verstappen’s race – even though he’s just pitted again.

Could he be the luckiest driver in the field today? He’s earnt it if so.

Piastri was heading into Imola going for his fourth-straight win, but it was never a foregone conclusion with the driver of a generation hot on his heels.

Remember Red Bull boss Christian Horner saying pre-race that Verstappen would drive like he had nothing to lose? They weren’t just empty words.

On lap 46 of 63, Verstappen was 18 seconds clear of Lando Norris in second, with Piastri 13 behind him. Kimi Antonelli was beached on the side of the track, suddenly, with technical dramas – and that triggered a full safety car – but Verstappen is still the man in command, despite taking the chance to pit for fresh rubber.

Norris pitted too, but Piastri stayed out. Now, on lap 47, Verstappen leads from Piastri and Norris.