Verstappen Claims Fourth Consecutive Win at Imola in Red Bull’s 400th Grand Prix

Max Verstappen - Red Bull

Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive victory at Imola, leading Red Bull Racing to a milestone 400th Grand Prix celebration at the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The Dutch driver overtook pole-sitter Oscar Piastri in the opening moments and maintained control to take the chequered flag. Lando Norris crossed the line in second place after a late-race move on his McLaren teammate, with Piastri completing the podium in third.

Speaking after the race, Verstappen said, "The start itself wasn't particularly great, but then I was still on the outside line, or basically the normal line, and I was like, well I'm just going to try and send it around the outside, and it worked really well."

He added, "That of course then unleashed our pace, because once we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres and we had very good pace on the mediums today. So again, massive improvement from Friday and I'm very, very pleased with the win."

McLaren Front Row Undone by Verstappen's Perfect Timing

Championship leader Piastri started from pole position, with Verstappen lining up alongside and Mercedes' George Russell directly behind. Russell got the better launch off the line and looked to challenge into Turn 1, but Piastri moved to defend the inside. While the McLaren driver focused on covering Russell, Verstappen stayed wide on the traditional racing line. Carrying more momentum, the Red Bull driver swept past both into the lead at the first corner.

From there, Verstappen quickly pulled away and settled into a rhythm. Russell and Norris battled for third until Norris finally got the better of the Mercedes driver on lap 12. Russell immediately responded by pitting, triggering the first round of stops among the front-runners.

Reflecting on how he lost the lead, Piastri said, "I just braked too early. And yeah, I mean, it was a good move by Max as well. So disappointing obviously, but I think we made a few wrong calls after that anyways. And yeah, not our best Sunday. So definitely a lot of things [for the team] to do."

VSC and Safety Car Add Late-Race Drama

A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 29 after Esteban Ocon retired with a mechanical failure. Several drivers, including Ferrari's Sir Lewis Hamilton, took advantage by diving into the pits, losing less time than under green flag conditions. Hamilton, who had started on the hard compound, rejoined on fresh mediums in seventh place and began making progress.

By lap 34, Hamilton overtook Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, reclaiming the position the rookie had impressively taken from him at the start. Two laps later, the seven-time world champion was in fifth after passing Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar.

Then on lap 46, Antonelli suffered a mechanical failure and pulled off track to the disappointment of his home crowd, triggering a full Safety Car. Verstappen, Norris, and Hamilton all pitted again, but Hamilton lost positions in the shuffle to teammate Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Russell.

Despite a strong showing from McLaren, the team ultimately had no answer for Verstappen's pace. Norris, who finished second, reflected on the challenge of keeping up and the tense but respectful duel with his teammate:

“A long race from that perspective. Not easy to overtake, but we did what we could. I think Max drove a good race. They were quick today and then probably a bit quicker. You know, we couldn't keep up and we had a good little battle at the end between Oscar and myself, which is always tense but always good fun.

Pretty good race, you know, from us as a team. Second and third is great. Of course we would love to be up there fighting against Max, but they were too good for us today.”

Hamilton Recovers to Fourth as McLaren Duel, Ferrari Charge Enter Final Phase

When racing resumed on lap 54, Hamilton immediately went on the attack. On lap 57, he overtook Russell into Turn 1 to reclaim sixth.

On lap 60, Williams’ Alexander Albon attempted to pass Leclerc into Turn 1 but was forced wide. The off-track excursion allowed Hamilton, running close behind, to capitalise and move up another position.

The following lap, Hamilton overtook Leclerc cleanly into Turn 1, securing fourth place. Leclerc was later advised to give the position back to Albon, who held on to finish fifth for Williams after a strong and opportunistic drive. Leclerc crossed the line sixth in front of the Tifosi, with Russell in seventh and Carlos Sainz eighth in the second Williams. Isack Hadjar and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten.

Hamilton, visibly moved by the crowd’s support, dedicated the drive to the fans over team radio, saying: "For the Tifosi, that was for them."

Following the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri maintained his lead in the drivers’ championship with 146 points. However, the gap has narrowed to just 13 points over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who sits on 133. Max Verstappen remains in striking distance with 124 points, 22 behind the leader.

The next Grand Prix will take place in Monaco from May 23 to 25, with the race set for Sunday, May 25 on the streets of Monte Carlo.