Verstappen Keeps Cool to Take Victory at Imola
Despite a late push from McLaren’s Lando Norris, Max Verstappen kept it cool to take victory in the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix! Lando came home second ahead of Charles Leclerc who secured a home Podium for Ferrari.
The Biggest Talking Points
Max Verstappen got off the line well to lead into the first few corners as everyone else managed to stay out of trouble. In the early phases, the closest battle was between Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri for P4, but the DRS ultimately wasn’t powerful enough for the McLaren to pass the Ferrari. However, in the pit-stop phases, Oscar was able to undercut Carlos. To be honest, this was a pretty dull Race as not much happened, but Alex Albon is worth talking about as the Williams driver had to pit twice in two laps after having a loose tyre. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll was making some good moves to move into the points-paying positions whilst Mercedes made a rather questionable call to pit George Russell which ultimately meant George finished behind Merc teammate Lewis Hamilton. However, there was at least a little bit of entertainment at the end as Lando Norris massively caught up to Max Verstappen (from completely out of nowhere) and ended up finishing just 7 tenths behind at the Chequered Flag!
The Standout Drives in the Race
I’ve given out two 10’s for today’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and the first one is obviously for Max Verstappen. To be honest, I never had any doubt when it comes to Max winning today, but he definitely did a good job making it interesting! The other driver I’ve given out maximum points to is Lando Norris and Lando deserves a massive shout-out because he’s driving superbly well right now! I also thought Charles Leclerc did a great job to end up on the Podium whilst Oscar Piastri and Yuki Tsunoda had really good days respectively!
Drivers Who Had a Shocker
In total, I’ve only given out one 1 for today’s Race and that is for Fernando Alonso. Fernando had no pace today, and his lack of moves really surprised me! I think next weekend is a big one for Alonso! I also thought Logan Sargeant and Valtteri Bottas had disappointing days whilst Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly weren’t great (Checo even made a silly mistake at Rivazza).
Overall Race Results and My Ratings
Max Verstappen: 10
Lando Norris: 10
Charles Leclerc: 9
Oscar Piastri: 8
Carlos Sainz: 7
Lewis Hamilton: 6
George Russell: 7 (FL)
Sergio Perez: 3
Lance Stroll: 6
Yuki Tsunoda: 8
Nico Hulkenberg: 7
Kevin Magnussen: 6
Daniel Ricciardo: 5
Esteban Ocon: 5
Zhou Guanyu: 4
Pierre Gasly: 3
Logan Sargeant: 2
Valtteri Bottas: 2
Fernando Alonso: 1
Alex Albon: - (DNF)
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