Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Verstappen holds off late Norris charge to win at Imola
On Sunday, Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by less than a second, holding off a late charge from McLaren's Lando Norris.
Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion took the chequered flag just 0.725 of a second ahead of the man who beat him in the previous round in Miami, sensing he could snatch another.
Verstappen's fifth win in seven races this season, his 59th overall, and his third consecutive at Imola. Last year's race at the Italian circuit was cancelled due to severe flooding.
"I had no grip anymore. I was sliding a lot. I saw Lando closing in. The last 10 laps were flat out," said a relieved Verstappen, who appeared to be on his way to another easy victory but had to work for it in the end.
"It's difficult when the tyres were not working anymore and you have to go flat out. I couldn't afford to make too many mistakes. Luckily we didn't."
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished third at the Italian team's atmospheric home track, 7.916 seconds off the pace, for his fourth podium of the season and a home race in Monaco next weekend.
Verstappen's championship lead now stands at 48 points, with Leclerc his closest rival after Red Bull's Sergio Perez started 11th and finished eighth.
Verstappen currently has 161 points, Leclerc 113, and Perez 107. Red Bull currently leads the constructors' standings with 268 points, followed by Ferrari with 212 and McLaren with 154.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri finished fourth despite starting fifth due to a three-place grid penalty for impeding in qualifying.
On another forgettable afternoon for the once-dominant team, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished fifth, followed by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in sixth and seventh.
Lance Stroll finished ninth for Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso starting in the pitlane and finishing 19th, and Yuki Tsunoda scored the final point for Red Bull's Faenza-based RB team in their home race.
Verstappen held off Norris at the start without incident, with the top four running in grid order on a sunny afternoon at a track where overtaking can be difficult.
Norris was 1.1 seconds behind on the final lap but simply ran out of time.
"It hurts me to say but one or two more laps I think I would have had him," said the Briton.
"We are at a point now where we can say we are in the position with Ferrari and Red Bull. We have to get used to it. We are fighting for first and second now."
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner agreed: "Massive pressure. A great, great job by Max to withstand that pressure," he said.
"It was a race of two halves for us. The first half was very strong, but the second half of that last stint, Lando started to catch us very quickly."
"The cars are converging after the latest upgrades, they are looking very similar. McLaren were very quick at this circuit and Ferrari as well."
Williams' Alex Albon received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a botched tyre change, forcing the Thai to return to the pits for a second stop due to a suspected loose front wheel.
Alonso attracted attention when his front left brakes caught fire in the pits.
SportsLigue