Max Verstappen caught McLaren by surprise at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to seal his second win of the year and lay down a reminder – as if one was needed – that he cannot be ruled out of this year’s Formula 1 championship fight.
The surprise came in two forms – firstly, by the spectacular move the Red Bull driver pulled to take the lead from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the first corner; and then by the pace Verstappen showed once out in front
In Miami two weeks ago, Verstappen also led the early laps, but he was devoured by the McLarens of both Piastri and Lando Norris in the first 20 laps of the race and then left far behind.
Not so this time.
Verstappen never looked like losing the race once he was in the lead. And while McLaren were left to rue some of what Piastri described as “wrong calls” during the race, they were also realistic enough to know that none of them would have made a difference to the outcome.
The decision to pit early for fresh tyres cost Piastri in the context of the way the race unfolded, with first a virtual safety car and then an actual one. And the season’s protagonists finished in reverse championship order, with Norris second and Piastri third.
“It was the best result I thought we could really achieve today,” Norris said. “I probably just didn’t expect the Red Bull to be quite as quick as they were.”
Piastri still leads the championship from Norris and Verstappen, but the gaps have compressed as the drivers head to Monaco this weekend. Where form may shift again.