Max Verstappen claimed a commanding victory at the 2025 Formula 1 Imola Grand Prix, holding off a late McLaren charge to take the win for Red Bull Racing. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the podium, securing another strong result for McLaren.
The race got underway with a lightning-fast start at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. From second on the grid, Verstappen launched past pole-sitter Oscar Piastri around the outside of Turn 1 to seize the lead. George Russell held third early on, but came under pressure from Norris, who overtook him on Lap 11 after an initial failed attempt that saw him momentarily run onto the grass.
Lewis Hamilton battled with Kimi Antonelli in the opening laps for P12, while Pierre Gasly dropped to 14th after going off into the gravel on Lap 3.
Piastri was the first of the front-runners to pit on Lap 14, switching to hard tyres, but a slow stop dropped him down to 12th. By Lap 16, he had not made significant progress, but on Lap 18, he passed Yuki Tsunoda for P10. At this point, Verstappen led by 9.6 seconds over Norris.
Russell and Fernando Alonso pitted shortly after, with Alonso’s car briefly catching fire in the pit lane before continuing. Piastri moved up the order, passing Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman to climb to eighth by Lap 20.
Meanwhile, Hamilton, running sixth, was told by Ferrari that there was no window for an undercut. On Lap 24, Russell reported issues with his Mercedes over the radio. That same lap, Piastri overtook Hamilton to take sixth.
Lap 30 saw Esteban Ocon instructed to retire his car due to an issue, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. Verstappen pitted under the VSC and crucially retained his lead with a near-19-second advantage.
By Lap 39, Hamilton overtook Antonelli for P6, followed by Charles Leclerc doing the same to move into seventh. Three laps later, Piastri passed Alex Albon for third place, while Leclerc climbed to sixth.
Disaster struck for Alonso as he dropped outside the top ten after being passed by Nico Hülkenberg. On Lap 47, Kimi Antonelli retired from the race with a mechanical issue, prompting a full Safety Car as Verstappen led Norris by 18 seconds.
With the field bunched up behind the Safety Car, Verstappen stayed out on fresh tyres, Piastri moved into second having also stayed out, and Norris slotted into third after pitting for fresher rubber. As the race resumed, there was little action at the restart, but tensions were high with the podium places still undecided.
By Lap 56, Verstappen led Piastri by three seconds, with Norris right behind his teammate on newer tyres. Leclerc ran fourth, just 1.5 seconds off the podium, while Hamilton moved past Russell for sixth.
On Lap 58, Norris cleanly passed Piastri to take second place and began chasing down Verstappen. He closed the gap to five seconds but ran out of time to mount a serious challenge.
Further back, Albon attempted a move on Leclerc but ran wide into the gravel. He rejoined and, on the final lap, successfully overtook the Ferrari for fifth.
Hamilton passed Leclerc for fourth on Lap 61, capping a strong race for the seven-time world champion. Despite Albon’s repeated attempts, Leclerc initially held firm, but couldn’t keep the Williams behind on the final lap.
At the front, Max Verstappen never looked back after taking the lead on Lap 1 and claimed his second win of the season.
2025 Formula 1 Imola GP Race Results:
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
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Lando Norris (McLaren Racing)
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Oscar Piastri (McLaren Racing)
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Lewis Hamilton (Scuderia Ferrari)
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Alex Albon (Williams Racing)
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Charles Leclerc (Scuderia Ferrari)
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George Russell (Mercedes AMG F1)
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Carlos Sainz (Williams Racing)
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Isack Hadjar (RB Racing Team)
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Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)
🎥 Watch the full 2025 Imola Grand Prix race highlights here.
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