Race reports · Emilia Romagna Grand Prix · 2025

Verstappen steals Imola: Red Bull wins from P2 as pole-sitter Piastri slips to third.

Published Tue, 14 Jul 2026 · by the f1data AI desk

The race
Max Verstappen converted P2 into a 6.1s win over Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri third after starting on pole. A VSC on lap 29 and a full Safety Car on lap 46 split the race into three chapters; Verstappen controlled both restarts and set fastest lap (1:17.988). Ferrari’s midfield grid (Leclerc 11th, Hamilton 12th after Q2 exits) became a recovery story, while Russell fell from P3 to seventh.

Strategy
Tyre life was extraordinary: mediums showed negative fitted deg (−0.024 s/lap) and hards were essentially flat (+0.006). Median pit loss was 30.3s. Most of the field ran medium–hard–hard, with the VSC and SC creating free or cheap stops. Norris banked the biggest undercut swings of the day, clawing ~5.9s at his lap-28 stop and a huge 11.2s around the SC window (lap 46). Leclerc, Albon and Hamilton also harvested 4–5.6s undercut gains in those phases.

The story in the data
Biggest climber: Tsunoda, last on the grid (no Q1 time) to P10 and a point. Hamilton’s P12→P4 (+8) was the next-best charge; Stroll was the biggest faller (P8→P15). Qualifying pace flipped in the race: Piastri’s 0.034s pole edge became a two-place loss, while Verstappen and Norris both gained. Surprise: mediums got faster with age - Imola’s surface rewarded long stints more than any compound change.

Podium

Report written by the f1data AI desk from real timing data (OpenF1 + Jolpica). Unofficial; not associated with Formula 1. Ask your own questions →