2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Recap

By Ryan Wu

Verstappen Shows the Mentality of a Champion

Starting behind pole-sitter Oscar Piastri on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult, Max Verstappen knew he had to strike early amid the opening-lap chaos. And strike he did—Verstappen stormed past Piastri within just a few corners, muscling his way through Tamburello with a stunning overtake on the championship leader.

Lando Norris passed George Russell a short time later, and the two quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. Pit stops for fresh tires began around lap 9, but it soon became evident that Verstappen and Norris were on the superior strategy. Drivers who stopped early struggled to make effective overtakes, highlighting the difficulties of the undercut on this circuit.

A Virtual Safety Car, triggered when Esteban Ocon was forced to pull off to the side of the track, played perfectly into Max Verstappen’s hands. He was able to make his pit stop during the VSC, saving significant time—especially compared to his closest competitor, Lando Norris, who had pitted just one lap earlier under green flag conditions.

A full Safety Car on lap 46 injected some late-race drama, bunching up the field and setting the stage for a tense finish. Both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen took the opportunity to pit for fresh tires, while Oscar Piastri, who had 16-lap-old rubber, stayed out and found himself right behind the race leader. The tire disadvantage proved costly for Piastri, as Verstappen quickly pulled away from the pack to claim his second win of the season, followed by Norris in second and Piastri in third.

Imola Showed Its Danger Early in the Weekend

The Formula 1 AWS Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna (try saying that 10 times fast), or more commonly known as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, is often a race of intrigue as a result of the venue it is held at.

Despite several safety-related modifications, Imola didn’t hesitate to bare its teeth during qualifying. Two red flags were thrown in Q1—Yuki Tsunoda suffered a massive crash that flipped his Red Bull, and Franco Colapinto, making his Formula 1 return by replacing Jack Doohan at Alpine, also had a heavy accident. Although Colapinto managed to advance to Q2, he couldn’t set a time as his car was too damaged.

Rookie Report

It was a tough start to the weekend for Oliver Bearman, as the stewards ruled that he failed to set a qualifying time under green flag conditions. As a result, he was classified in P19, ahead of only the aforementioned Yuki Tsunoda, who crashed out. Liam Lawson also failed to advance past Q1, finishing P16—just behind Franco Colapinto.

Kimi Antonelli, racing at his home Grand Prix, failed to advance past Q2 for only the second time this season, ending his impressive 100% record of Q3 appearances. His heartbreak would only continue as the young driver was forced to retire from the race while in 10th place on lap 46, citing an issue with his car.

Isack Hadjar was the lone rookie driver to qualify for Q3 and subsequently finish in the points with a P9 finish.

Returnee Franco Colapinto had a weekend to forget after damaging his car at the end of Q1 then finished the race in 16th.

Rough Start to Weekend for Ferrari

During the early part of Q2, both Ferraris appeared well-positioned to advance to Q3. However, neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc managed to improve their lap times, resulting in both being eliminated from Q2. They started the race in P12 and P11, respectively—a disappointing outcome for the large contingent of Ferrari fans at the track.

After qualifying, Hamilton expressed his devastation over not being able to deliver a better performance. However, both he and the Ferrari drivers staged a strong comeback in the race, with Hamilton finishing fourth and Leclerc—who had earlier said he hoped to work some miracles on race day—finishing sixth.

Racing Refresh Driver of the Day

Max Verstappen, Red Bull

Final Points Finishing Positions

1st: Max Verstappen

2nd: Lando Norris

3rd: Oscar Piastri

4th: Lewis Hamilton

5th: Alex Albon

6th: Charles Leclerc

7th: George Russell

8th: Carlos Sainz

9th: Isack Hadjar

10th: Yuki Tsunoda

Next on the F1 Schedule:

Monaco Grand Prix: May 23rd-25th