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Max Verstappen Wins on Italian Territory While the Ferraris Have Terrible Race

Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after dominating the entire race to recover some points for his title defense from primary challenger Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen wins Emilia Romagna GP 9 photos
Photo: Formula 1
Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc Imola 2022Max Verstappen Imola 2022Emilia Romagna GPVerstapeen wins in Imola 2022Russell vs Magnussen Imola 2022Verstappen and Perez 1-2 in ImolaEmilia Romagna GPCharles Leclerc Emilia Romagna GP 2022
To make things even better for Red Bull, Sergio Perez came in second to give the Austrian team its first one-two of the season. At the same time, Ferrari choked big time on home soil, with Carlos Sainz crashing out of the race in the opening lap after a collision with McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc spinning while he was in second place chasing Verstappen. However, the Monegasque driver was able to recover some points and finished in sixth place.

Let's take a look at how the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix unfolded. Everybody started on Intermediate tires, and defending world champion Verstappen had a great start, while Leclerc fell from P2 to P4, overtaken by Perez and Norris. Behind them, Ricciardo, Sainz and Bottas were involved in a collision, bringing the Safety Car out. On Lap 8, Charles beat Lando at Tamburello, while a few places behind, Kevin Magnussen and George Russell were having an intense battle.

With the track starting to dry out, McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo was the first to pit for slicks on Lap 17, and Perez did the same two laps later from second. Meanwhile, Max and Charles stopped a lap later, with Leclerc jumping ahead of Perez, but Checo retook his second place at the Villeneuve chicane on his warmer slicks.

Leclerc jumped the Mexican driver on the last pitting session, but he spun out at Variante Alta while chasing Verstappen like a mad dog. He had to pit with a broken front wing and came out in ninth. He did an excellent salvation job by finishing sixth. As a result, the two Red Bull drivers finished first and second, while Lando Norris took the first podium finish for McLaren in 2022.

"It's always tough to achieve something like that," said Emilia Romagna Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen. "Already yesterday and the day before, we were on it and it was looking like a strong weekend. Today, you never know with the weather how competitive you will be… but as a team we did everything well and I think one-two is very well deserved."

The next race will be the newly introduced Miami Grand Prix, which will take place in two weeks time. Stay tuned for more updates.
  • 1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  • 2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
  • 3) Lando Norris, McLaren
  • 4) George Russell, Mercedes
  • 5) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
  • 6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
  • 7) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
  • 8) Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
  • 9) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
  • 10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
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About the author: Silvian Irimia
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Silvian may be the youngest member of our team, being born in the 2000s, but you won't find someone more passionate than him when it comes to motorsport. An automotive engineer by trade, Silvian considers the Ferrari F50 his favorite car, with the original Lamborghini Countach a close second.
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