Verstappen holds off Norris to win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Formula One – as it happened

Giles Richards was at Imola, here is his race report:

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading, bye.

Charles Leclerc has a chat. He is asked: Could Ferrari have done any more today? “Honestly, I don’t think so. We had to cover for Oscar [Piastri] in the first stint. No way we can lose track position on a track like this … Oscar was pushing hard … that made it difficult for me to manage tyres.

“I was coming back on Lando, I thought, ‘OK, maybe I can put him under pressure’ … they [McLaren] were strong, but today, I really believe it was about track position. Our race pace is very strong … what makes me optimistic is if I look at the data … we lost everything in the straights … We’ve got to look into it: it’s nothing that is not possible to change. Once we’ve fixed that, we’ve got a real shot of going back on the top step of the podium.”

Why didn’t it quite work out for Oscar Piastri today? “It was a consequence of where we started,” he says. “The last two weekend have been good for the team and for me personally. Two of my best weekends in F1. I think I did all I could, what I could control.”

Zak Brown, McLaren’s managing director, on the team’s display today: “It’s exciting for Monaco. It’s exciting for the rest of the year … Red Bull are still the team to beat. And we’ve got to catch Ferrari … but I see no reason, if we keep doing what we’re doing, that Lando and Oscar aren’t going to win more races this year.”

Lando Norris hugs it out with his team. It’s quite remarkable how close he came to a second straight grand prix win … as Horner said, that McLaren is a quick car. Exciting times ahead for the season, with Ferrari looking fast too.

What’s his net spend, though?

The top five in the constructors’ standings: Red Bull 268, Ferrari 212, McLaren 154, Mercedes 79, Aston Martin 44.

In the drivers’ standings Verstappen now has 161pts, Leclerc 113, Perez 107, Norris 101, Sainz 93.

George Russell of Mercedes got the fastest lap and an extra championship point.

“He’s been pushed very hard by Lando today,” says Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, of today’s excitement against McLaren. Then he conspicuously fails to remember the name of the new undisputed world heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk:

“You’ve got two guys going at it like Tyson Fury and … in the fight last night.”

“Things don’t stand still in Formula 1. McLaren have made a step, Ferrari have made a step. We’re going to keep that level of development coming thorugh.”

Who will be Red Bull’s biggest rivals next week in Monaco, Horner is asked:

“McLaren have got a very fast car at the moment … but Ferrari are ‘in the noise’ with them as well. It’s good for you guys [media]. It’s great to win a race like that when you’ve been pushed very hard …

“[For Max] to win a race like that, when you haven’t buckled under the pressure, is fantastic.”

There are 17 races still to go. This Formula 1 season is going to be feel more gruelling than your standard Premier League campaign. Speaking of which:

We have the national anthems. Then Verstappen gets his hands on the trophy.

The crowd gives a huge cheer for Leclerc on the podium. Then, today’s top three drivers waste some perfectly good champagne.

Leclerc is the first Ferrari driver to make the podium at Imola since Michael Schumacher in 2006.

There will be dancing in the streets of Bologna tonight.

“At least it’s a podium,” Leclerc says. “We were very fast at the start.”

Then he hits the tifosi with some impressively fluent Italian. And he says the next race – his home race in Monaco next Sunday – will be special.

Did Norris think, with a few more laps, the victory was his?

“Yeah. It hurts me to say. One or two more laps and I think I would have had him. Tough. A shame. I fought hard until the final laps … it was a tough first half, a better second half … one or two more laps would have been beautiful. But just not today.

“We are at the point now, we can happily say, we’re in the [same] position as Ferrari and Red Bull … we’re fighting for first and second now … it’s still a surprise to be disappointed not to win. But after the improvements we made at the last race, it’s what we should expect.”

Did Verstappen feel under pressure out there?

“Yeah, I think the whole race I had to push flat out, to make a gap initially … on the mediums we were quite strong … the last 10, 15 laps I had no grip, I was sliding a lot. It was difficult when the tyres are not working anymore and you have to go flat out. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. But I’m super happy to win here today.

“We changed a lot on the car, we didn’t have a lot of information going into the race … but I’ll take that.”

Top 10:

1 Max Verstappen

2 Lando Norris

3 Charles Leclerc

4 Oscar Piastri

5 Carlos Sainz

6 Lewis Hamilton

7 George Russell

8 Sergio Perez

9 Lance Stroll

10 Yuki Tsunoda

It looked like being a procession up front for most of the race, but that was really exciting at the end. Red Bull’s Verstappen lost a lot of pace in the closing laps, and Norris closed to within around a second, having trailed by 6 or 7sec. But a few errors by Norris appeared to cost him when he was almost in DRS range …

It will be interesting to hear Verstappen’s and Norris’s thoughts on that battle. Are we seeing the start of a really big rivalry?

“Unlucky. Almost,” Norris tells his team. “We just lost too much in the beginning … but well done everyone … A lot of points, another trophy. Let’s keep it up.”

“I had to work for that,” says Verstappen on team radio. “Whoo! We did a great race, considering how the weekend started … I had to work hard for that.”

Verstappen wins, Norris second, Leclerc third.

Final lap! Verstappen leads by 0.9sec …

Lap 62/63: The gap between Norris in second and Verstappen is 1.060sec!

Norris nearly goes into the gravel! But he holds it together! The race is on …

Lap 61/63: Three laps to go. It’s 1.367sec the lead for Verstappen … but I think the champion is going to hold on for victory. Did Norris take something out of his tyres with those mistakes?

Looks like Alonso, in last place, is going to retire … but no! He comes back out. “Must be pitstop practice,” says Kravitz.

Lap 60/63: Norris trails Verstappen by 1.473sec.

Norris has said he’s lost all grip, on the radio. All over?

Lap 59/63: Verstappen stems the bleeding and clocks a quicker lap for the first time in a while … but the gap to Norris is 1.5sec.

Lap 58/63: It’s holding at around 1.7sec. There was a mistake by Norris that cost him a fraction of a second. In fact at least two errors on a bit of a scruffy lap.

Lap 58/63: It’s 1.630sec between Verstappen and Norris!

“I’m pushing as much as I can!” Norris says.

Lap 57/63: The gap is down to 2sec. Norris is closing on DRS range … Could he make it two out of two?

Lap 56/63: We’ve got a real race! Norris is 2.2sec down! He has Verstappen in his sights …

Verstappen complains about Tsunoda, in 10th, slowing him down.

Lap 55/63: Norris was a whole second quicker than Verstappen on the previous lap!

Is this better tyre management by Norris? Does Verstappen have a problem?

“The car doesn’t turn,” Verstappen has said, apparently! (It wasn’t broadcast on radio.)

Lap 54/63: Norris is 3.5sec down now!

Not sure what’s up with Verstappen up front, and neither are the commentators …

Lap 53/63: Seems like Verstappen is complaining about his tyres. He’s lost pace. Norris is catching up … he’s 4.2sec behind. But can he make a real race of it?

Lap 52/63: Up front, Verstappen has 4.5sec on Norris. Towards the back, Magnussen overtakes Bottas for 13th place at Tamburello.

Lap 51/63: Alpine sent Gasly out with a two-stop strategy. He’s now running 17th and they’re hoping to make up some places late in the race, the team principal, Bruno Famin, tells Sky.

Lap 50/63:

Top 10:

Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Piastri
Sainz
Russell
Hamilton
Perez
Tsunoda
Stroll

It’s 5.7sec for Verstappen v Norris.

Lap 49/63: Fifteen laps to go. Norris trails Verstappen by 6sec. Leclerc has fallen back to over 2sec behind Norris.

Lap 47/63: “George Russell is struggling for pace,” says Ted Kravitz of one of those Mercedes machines. “It’s sliding at the front, and sliding at the rear, and the lap times show that.”

Lap 46/63: There is an elevation change of 35metres on the Imola circuit, apparently. It’s a bit like the famous Lord’s slope.

Norris has found a bit more pace. He’s over a second up on Leclerc … he’s escaped the clutches of the Frenchman for now.

Lap 45/63: Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Hamilton, Perez, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg.

Lap 44/63: “You are the fastest car on track,” Leclerc is told by his team on the radio.

Up front, Verstappen leads by 7.5sec.

Lap 42/63: Leclerc’s Ferrari is right on Norris’s tail! Under a second and within DRS range.

“It is I, Leclerc,” he doesn’t say on the radio.

Lap 41/63: Leclerc is catching Norris. The Frenchman is 1.3sec down on the Briton. “He’s trying,” Norris is told by his team on the radio.

“Yep,” Norris replies. “I’m trying too.”

Lap 40/63: The gap between second-placed Norris and third-placed Leclerc is 2sec. Piastri is 2.7sec down on Ferrari’s Frenchman. Then Sainz, in fifth, is a further 5sec back.

The pace of the McLarens seems healthy enough. But Verstappen leads by 7sec now.

Lap 39/63: Public service announcement: Our Premier League football Super Sunday blogs are here:

Lap 38/63: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz is the top five.

Lap 37/63: It’s 6.2sec for Verstappen ahead of Norris. Norris’s dad is pictured in the pits. Apparently he missed the last race and watched on telly.

Hamilton sweeps past Perez at Tamburello, which is proving to be a popular overtaking spot. The seven-times world champion is now running seventh.

Lap 36/63: Hamilton is right on Perez’s tail in the battle for seventh.

“Feisty stuff,” says the commentator. Which is fair.

By the way, everyone’s pitted at least once.

Lap 35/63: Verstappen has 6.4sec on Norris.

Places six to 10 are as follows: Russell, Perez, Hamilton, Stroll, Magnussen.

Lap 34/63: Albon has had a penalty for an ‘unsafe release’ from that pesky pitstop. He’s running a lap down at the back of the grid. Lacklustre stuff.

Lap 33/63: Top five: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz.

Lap 32/63: Thoughts? Reflections? Email me.

Lap 31/63: Now Russell of Mercedes has a look at Tamburello, and overtakes Perez.

Verstappen’s lead is creeping out. It’s 6.64sec now. Everything’s going nicely for Red Bull.

Lap 30/63: Red Bull’s Verstappen leads Norris by 6.3sec.

Sainz overtakes Perez at Tamburello and is up to fifth. The tifosi applaud.

Lap 29/63: Hamilton indeed did make an error and veered into a run-off area at Acque Minerali. We are shown a replay. No major harm done. Tsunoda pulls off a lovely overtaking move on a back marker.

Lap 28/63: Sainz pits. Verstappen retakes the lead. Hamilton pits too. He’s back out in ninth place. Norris is second and Leclerc third … so we are back where we started.

Top 10 after 27 laps: Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Russell, Stroll, Magnussen.

Lap 26/63: It looks like Hamilton might have gone off track. His tyres are looking a bit dusty. The recent plethora of pitstops have added a bit of spice.

Lap 26/63: Piastri sets the fastest lap. He is flying on fresh rubber.

Lap 26/63: Top five: Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris.

Lap 25/63: Now Verstappen comes in for a fresh set of tyres. He comes back out on track in fourth place. Hamilton is up to third. Leclerc and Sainz are now one and two, having not pitted.

Lap 24/63: Now Piastri pits … and Norris gets past Perez on his fresh tyres! Following Piastri’s stop, Norris is back up to fifth, 14sec behind Hamilton, now fourth.

Lap 23/63: Norris pits! It’s a handy enough 2.4sec stop.

He re-emerges side-by-side with Perez, and the British driver is now running seventh.

We’re told this is the longest pit lane exit on the calendar.

Lap 21 of 63: What’s the word for this? Dull? Boring? Call it what you like. It ain’t very exciting. Sorry, and all that. Maybe things will improve. And of course it’s impressive from Verstappen and Red Bull that they are apparently crushing the hopes of a resurgent McLaren with such efficiency.

Lap 20/63: McLaren’s Piastri continues to harry Sainz of Ferrari in fourth. The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, is pictured back in the pits looking fairly sombre.

Lap 18/63: Red Bull’s Perez has veered off track into a run-off area and lost about five seconds. He’s running eighth. Lance Stroll is now 1.5sec behind him in his Aston Martin.

Lap 16/63: It’s 5.1sec now for Red Bull and Verstappen up top. McLaren will be reasonably happy with how they are competing though, you’d think. Norris is doing the best he can.

Lap 15/63: “That four and a half seconds is crucial for Red Bull,” Ted Kravitz says of Verstappen’s lead. “It means they can react to whatever Norris or Leclerc are doing behind them.”

It’s looking like a procession up front.

Lap 14/63:

Verstappen leads by 4.6sec for Red Bull now.

The top 10:

Verstappen
Norris
Leclerc
Sainz
Piastri
Russell
Hamilton
Perez
Stroll
Ocon

Lap 13/63: Verstappen leads Norris by 3.2sec.

Tsunoda pits for RB Honda.

Lap 12/63: The headline at the moment is Albon’s dodgy pitstop for Williams. The commentators are trying to work out if he drove off with a loose wheel. It doesn’t look immediately apparent.

Meanwhile, Piastri and Sainz continue to battle for the fourth and final Champions League qualification place.

Lap 11/63: Piastri is right on Sainz’s tail and battling for fourth. That’s where the excitement is right now. Will we see any up front, though?

Lap 10/63: Fastest lap for Verstappen. Meanwhile Albon has an issue with a tyre after his pitstop in the Williams. “The tyre’s not on,” he tells the team. That doesn’t sound ideal.

Lap 9/63: Alonso has pitted for Aston Martin. He wasn’t kidding when he said this was a more a fact-finding mission for the team and that they will struggle to score points. He’s half a minute down at the back. Gasly and Albon have pitted, too.

Lap 8/63: Our race leader Verstappen is head of his good mate Norris by 1.8sec. It’s gradually creeping up. Leclerc is 1.5sec back in third.

Lap 7/63: We are shown on-board footage from the start with Hulkenberg, who got a magnificent start, and stormed past Tsunoda and Ricciardo into turn one. He yelled in celebration on the radio as he did so …

Lap 5/63: Verstappen stretches his lead to 1.5sec, but Norris eats into it again, and then suddenly it’s out to 1.7sec.

A one-stop strategy is expected today. Verstappen is looking set fair after his incredible flying lap in qualifying.

Lap 4/63: Red Bull’s Verstappen leads Norris by around a second. The McLaren driver is showing impressive speed to stay right on his rival’s tail.

Lap 2/63: Hamilton has gained a place for Mercedes and is up to seventh. But it’s as you were in the top six, with Verstappen leading from Norris, then Leclerc, Sainz, Piastri, Russell.

Hulkenberg is also on the march for Haas and has overtaken Ricciardo and Tsunoda and is a place behind Hamilton.

The cars are on the spot. Here we go …

A pre-race tribute to both Senna and Ratzenberger from Seb Vettel.

Here we go with the formation lap.

The drivers’ standings are here. Verstappen has amassed 136pts from six races. His Red Bull teammate Perez is 33 points behind in second.

The car’s top speed will be 214mph, we are told. Spicy.

We’ll have 63 laps of the 4.909km circuit, making 309.049km total.

Five minutes until lights out. A poignant occasion at Imola as we remember the great Ayrton Senna. I remember that fateful day like it was yesterday.

“Yesterday was good,” says Oscar Piastri, who was impressively quick in qualifying and starts fifth on the grid for McLaren. “I think it’s going to be an interesting race. Because I’m not really sure who’s going to win.”

“That’s the way we like it!” toots Ted Kravitz.

Time for the Italian anthem. Countless Ferrari flags are waving in the crowd, along with a massive Italian flag. Some children stand on the grid and belt out the anthem in style, accompanied by a violinist.

How is the Red Bull’s speed? Polesitter Verstappen speaks: “From our side it [the car] is a bit unknown, on the long runs … we had a better balance in qualifying … that will help for the race. If it’s enough, I don’t know.”

The crowd is a sea of red: The tifosi are out in force.

Karun Chandhok mentioned earlier that Lewis Hamilton, who will drive for Ferrari from next year, has enjoyed a superb reception.

“I’ve always been an F1 fan,” says tennis’s world No 2, Aryna Sabalenka. “I’m super excited to feel the atmosphere. It’s so cool, being here around the cars … it’s something new, something different.

Can Sabalenka imagine speaking to media right before walking on to court for a match? “It’s so different,” she replies. “I cannot see myself doing all this stuff before the biggest match of my life. It’s really cool to see.”

Is she ready for the French Open? “Oh yes.”

Cupping his ears against the noise on the grid, Hugh Grant briefly tells us about his new film, Unfrosted, written by Jerry Seinfeld.

“I play a grand Shakespearean actor who has to be Tony the Tiger in the Kelloggs ad,” Grant says. “And he’s furious about it.”

He adds that he’s hoping for a Ferrari win.

Surprising to see Sergio Perez down in 11th for Red Bull. On telly they mention there are plenty of drivers are looking for a seat for next year …

Meanwhile, the grid is packed with people. There’s Hugh Grant!

Thirty years have passed since Ayrton Senna’s untimely death at the San Marino Grand Prix on 1 May 1994, but the fascination with the mercurial Brazilian driver remains almost as mesmerising as ever it was on the track. His death, at 34, was bitter in prematurely ending a compelling career and a tragedy that deprived Formula One of one of its most captivating characters. His legacy remains, felt keenly across the sport and beyond.

Why not read Giles Richards’ qualifying report before lights out. McLaren look quick again, but pole promises to be crucial …

“Verstappen set the benchmark in Q3 with a 1min 14.869sec lap but with Norris just seven-hundredths down. The blood is up at McLaren, and Verstappen’s unbeaten streak of poles this season looked under threat in the tense final laps. He knew he had to improve and duly did with a 1:14.746 lap, notably better in the second sector where he had struggled. Yet he was taken to the wire, Norris first barrelling in just nine-hundredths back, with Piastri then claiming second only seven-hundredths in arrears, before his penalty promoted his teammate to the front row.

McLaren’s climb back to the front of the grid has been long, slow and sometimes painful but with the raft of upgrades they have on this car now proving themselves, they are back in the game. However Imola is an altogether different prospect to Miami. It is a majestic circuit, a glorious place to watch racing and much loved by drivers, but it is narrow, testing and with little margin for error, overtaking is a tricky task at best. Pole is crucial and Verstappen has it, as Norris noted.”

What do you think? Can Norris do it again? Email me.

Lando Norris has a chat on his prospects for today: “We’ve continued the good run of good form, the good pace … today we need to prove we’ve still got good race pace. We had a fairly good indication of that on Friday.

“Things are looking good, we’re in a good position, I think we can bring the fight to Max.”

Will he aim to get ahead of Verstappen into turn one? “It’s my plan, but executing plans is always a tricky thing. We’ve got to make the most of the start.”

The Sky reporter spots Verstappen walking alongside them and tells the champion that Lando is planning to overtake him at the start.

“Yeah, he can do that,” Verstappen says, smiling. “It’s not going to change my life. It’s exciting.”

Back to Norris, on Verstappen: “We get on well. We’re good mates. I’m sure he hates it when I beat him. I hate it when he beats me all the time, especially so easily. I hope that’s not the case today.”

We’ve already had plenty of Ayrton Senna tributes on the Sky coverage. Sebastian Vettel pointed out that that horrible weekend, when Roland Ratzenberger died in qualifying before Senna in the race, was a catalyst for significant improvements in driver safety.

Now they are running some Lando Norris VT, including the team’s celebrations back at base. The universally popular Norris clearly relishing the celebrations with the entire McLaren team.