Round seven of this year’s Formula One (F1) season took place Sunday in Imola, Italy at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing got pole position during Qualifying on Saturday and took the 59th win of his career after 63 laps just 0.725 seconds ahead of Lando Norris.
Norris from McLaren started from second position (P2), followed by the two Ferraris driven by Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who started on the second row P3 and P4 respectively. Given the narrow nature of the circuit, designed for much smaller cars, opportunities to overtake cars were minimal and the race ended with the same top three drivers it started with.
Verstappen increased his lead on the world championship to a total of 161 points and Leclerc overtook Sergio Perez for second place on the Driver Standings by just six points after his P3 podium finish. Norris is currently fourth in the standings, six points behind Perez.
Despite having a lead for most of the race, the pace of the Red Bull car collapsed near the end, allowing Norris to close the gap. “It was very tricky at the end,” Verstappen said. “The last 15 laps for me were extremely difficult. It was like driving on ice.”
“It was a good effort, a little too late.” Norris said. “I was just praying for one more lap. I just did everything I could, I was pushing like hell to get there and catch up and have a chance.”
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix returned to the calendar after being suspended in 2023 due to flooding in the area, much to the joy of the hundreds of Tifosi – Ferrari fanatics – in attendance.
Verstappen’s pole position in this race matched F1 legend and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna’s record for eight consecutive pole positions. This year marks three decades since Senna’s death at the very same circuit of Imola. Prior to the race, retired four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel drove a tribute lap of the circuit with Senna’s 1993 McLaren vehicle to honor his memory.
Round Eight of the 2024 F1 season will take place at 8 a.m. CST this Sunday at the Circuit de Monaco in the city-state of Monaco.
