Key events
Lap 57 of 63: Norris is now pushing Piastri for second place – while Hamilton gets the better of Alex Albon and climbs back up to fifth!
Lap 56 of 63: Here’s the current top 10…
1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Norris 4. Leclerc 5. Albon 6. Russell 7. Hamilton 8. Sainz 9. Hadjar 10. Tsunoda
Lap 55 of 63: DRS is available again, but Verstappen has already opened up a 1.8s lead over Piastri. Norris, running on new tires, is battling to get past his teammate.
Lap 54 of 63: Green flag! Verstappen holds off Piastri as racing resumes; the Australian has to watch teammate Norris, who in turn is challenged by the Ferrari of Leclerc, now pushing for a podium spot.
Lap 53 of 63: Make that nine laps – the safety car is coming in after this lap. Can Norris or Piastri challenge the race leader, Verstappen, at the restart?
Lap 52 of 63: Strong calm-before-the-storm vibes around Imola. Bearman is allowed through to unlap himself and rejoin the back of the pack. It’s looking like a 10-lap sprint to the finish …
Lap 50 of 63: Antonelli’s Mercedes, parked up on the verge in the car-boot-sale style, is proving hard to move, so the safety car remains. Bearman is actually caught between Verstappen and Piastri, but the Haas is a lap behind the leading duo.
Lap 49 of 63: Another lap under the safety car, with Leclerc worried his tyres won’t carry him until the end. As for McLaren, Lando Norris says: “Oscar’s tyres are dead – if we want to go after Verstappen, I’ve got the better pace.”
Lap 48 of 63: We could end up with a 10-12 lap sprint for the line when the safety car is sent back in. Piastri is running second, but Norris should have better pace on fresh tyres in third.
Lap 47 of 63: Another mad dash into the pits with the safety car deployed. How might this affect McLaren and Ferrari’s strategies for the rest of this race? Piastri hasn’t pitted again, neither has Leclerc.
Lap 46 of 63: Yellow flag! The full safety car protocol is in effect now, after Kimi Antonelli comes to a halt on his way out of the Tosa hairpin. It seems the Mercedes driver’s race is run. Bearman does seem to have continued, although he’s 50 seconds adrift at the back.
Lap 45 of 63: Here’s the top 10 as it stands.
1. Verstappen 2. Norris 3. Piastri 4. Albon 5. Hamilton 6. Leclerc 7. Hadjar 8. Antonelli 9. Russell 10. Sainz
Lap 44 of 63: Fernando Alonso is bemoaning his car’s poor performance on race day. “I’m the unluckiest driver in the [effing] world!” Verstappen leads by 18 seconds from Norris, who hasn’t been able to even make an encouraging dent in the Red Bull’s lead.
Lap 43 of 63: Saturday was very good for Aston Martin, and terrible for Ferrari – but now, the Scuderia have both drivers in the top six, while Aston Martin’s Alonso and Stroll have slipped to 13th and 14th.
Lap 42 of 63: Some Ferrari intrigue emerging, with Leclerc up to sixth and running quicker on the hard tyres. Teammate Lewis Hamilton, on mediums, is next in front of him. Up ahead, Piastri sets a new fastest lap; he’s still a good 14 seconds behind Norris, though.
Lap 40 of 63: Piastri overtakes Albon! It’s very straightforward for the McLaren, who joins Norris in the top three. The problem for McLaren is that Verstappen is a mile clear of both of them.
Lap 39 of 63: Piastri is almost in range to attack Albon, who has also had a yellow flag infringement noted by stewards. Down the field, Nico Hulkenberg celebrates Sauber’s 600th F1 race by scooting beyond Fernando Alonso and into 10th place.
Lap 38 of 63: Antonelli is struggling on medium tyres and has slipped behind Leclerc. Hamilton warns Ferrari that he took a lot out of his tyres to get up to fifth place.
Lap 37 of 63: There are a few factors at play in the second half of this race; tyre age, the track slowly cooling down and how much fuel drivers have on board. None of that is likely to affect Verstappen, though – he’s built up an 18-second lead over Norris in second.
Lap 36 of 63: Hamilton moves up to fifth, getting the better of Hadjar! Leclerc is in eighth, so it’s turning into a positive day for Ferrari. Piastri is closing on Albon, looking to get back onto the podium.
Lap 35 of 63: Hamilton gets in front of Antonelli and sets a new fastest lap – he’s up to sixth, and a bad weekend is getting better for Ferrari.
Lap 34 of 63: Sainz is unhappy with Tsunoda as the Red Bull makes contact to stop him overtaking. “Just like in Bahrain,” he tuts over the team radio – but there’ll be no further action from stewards.
Lap 33 of 63: A rough day for Haas – after Ocon’s car gave up the ghost, Bearman has pitted but not returned to the race yet.
Lap 32 of 63: As we pass the halfway mark, here’s the top 10.
1. Verstappen 2. Norris 3. Albon 4. Piastri 5. Hadjar 6. Antonelli 7. Hamilton 8. Leclerc 9. Alonso 10. Stroll
Lap 31 of 63: The virtual safety car has retreated (so to speak), but we may see some penalties for the ducking and diving in the pits.
Lap 30 of 63: Wacky Races vibes as almost half the field steam into the pits, with cars arriving and leaving nose-to-nose. Leclerc, who was just about to execute his two-stop strategy, is cursing his luck. “Why do I always get [effed] by the safety car?” he asks the team radio.
Lap 29 of 63: Virtual safety car! Norris pits, returning to the track in seventh – but Esteban Ocon is parked up on the grass, and the yellow flag is waved. This could work out very nicely for Verstappen, who is going to pit with the virtual safety car in effect.
Lap 28 of 63: Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls is running in fourth, and given the task of keeping Piastri behind him – but is unable to do so for very long. Albon feels his team are pushing things with no stop yet, but he’s reassured that the Williams pace is still decent.
Lap 27 of 63: Verstappen has built a nine-second lead over Lando Norris, with Albon a further 14 seconds back.
Top ten: 1. Verstappen 2. Norris 3. Albon 4. Hadjar 5. Piastri* 6. Antonelli 7. Hamilton 8. Leclerc* 9. Hulkenberg 10. Bearman
*Pitted once
Lap 26 of 63: Russell is able to overtake Tsunoda and creep up to 11th –good news for the sole Mercedes fan in the stands, waving a silver flag while surrounded by a sea of red.
Lap 25 of 63: Hamilton, currently sixth and yet to pit, is pushing to get beyond Antonelli – but Oscar Piastri is looming behind them both.
Lap 23 of 63: Leclerc gets beyond Ollie Bearman and is up to ninth place, while George Russell says he’s “struggling” with the rear of his Mercedes. His team can’t immediately tell what the issue is.
Lap 22 of 63: The drivers who pitted between laps 10 and 15 – when the mediums were really struggling – may be regretting it now, as those in front have been able to get another 10 laps out of them.
Lap 21 of 63: Carlos Sainz has pitted and dropped to 14th, but his Williams teammate, Alex Albon, is still moving fast enough and could stick to a one-stop plan.
Lap 20 of 63: “The key for us is free air and going long,” Norris tells McLaren as his teammate keeps working his way through the pack. That would suggest he wants to stay out for longer than Verstappen.
Lap 19 of 63: Verstappen leads from Norris, then come Albon, Hadjar, Antonelli, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Colapinto – but none of them have pitted yet.
Lap 18 of 63: Piastri gets into DRS range heading into the 18th lap, and while Tsunoda tries to close the door, he gets past on the outside. He is currently 32 seconds behind Verstappen, who has yet to pit.
Lap 17 of 63: The top 10 drivers are those who haven’t pitted; at the back of that group is Tsunoda, who’s been asked by Red Bull to try and slow up the man directly behind him – Oscar Piastri.
Lap 15 of 63: It’s looking like a two-stop strategy for many of these drivers, although Red Bull are yet to respond. Verstappen leads Norris by 10 seconds, with Alex Albon currently running in third. Hamilton is sixth on his original hard tyres although even he is starting to struggle for pace.
Lap 14 of 63: A ragged pit-stop for Piastri, which will cost him a few seconds, plus any hope of undercutting Verstappen.
Lap 13 of 63: Alonso and Leclerc both pit, with the Ferrari returning and setting a new fastest lap – he’s down in 13th but ahead of Russell.
Lap 12 of 63: Russell pits seven or eight laps early, his medium tires quickly shredded beyond use. Piastri is also concerned, saying “Plan A is looking very ambitious.”
Lap 11 of 63: Norris overtakes Russell! The McLaren makes light work of getting on to the virtual podium, twisting to get past George Russell at the Villeneuve chicane and holding his ground around the next bend.
Lap 10 of 63: Carlos Sainz is in sixth but pushing Fernando Alonso in what is a crowded pack behind George Russell. Lando Norris is on the heels of the Mercedes man, who tells the team radio he’s pushing too hard to make his pit-stop target.
Lap 8 of 63: This is Red Bull’s 400th Formula One race and it’s going well with Verstappen out in front – although Tsunoda is only 19th after starting from the pit lane.
Lap 6 of 63: Here’s how they stand early on…
1. Verstappen 2. Piastri 3. Russell 4. Norris 5. Alonso 6. Sainz 7. Albon 8. Stroll 9. Leclerc 10. Hadjar 11. Antonelli 12. Hamilton
Lap 5 of 63: George Russell wasn’t impressed by Piastri’s start, asking “what is he doing?” over the Mercedes team radio.
Lap 4 of 63: Verstappen sets the fastest lap and has opened a 1.5s lead over Piastri. Was the Australian too cautious in his start, or was Verstappen simply too good?
Lap 2 of 63: Alpine’s Pierre Gasly runs wide and onto the gravel – as will happen if you mistime your passing move – and drops down the field.
Lap 1 of 63: Not a huge amount of shuffling further down the pack, although Charles Leclerc has moved up to 10th. Kimi Antonelli, who is from nearby Bologna, is testing fans’ loyalties by getting in front of Lewis Hamilton.
Lights out
Verstappen gets alongside Piastri at the first turn and times his move perfectly to get in front at the Tamburello chicane. The defending champion leads – could that be a big moment in the title race? George Russell was pushing for second but is boxed in by Verstappen’s move.
The formation lap is under way, and we’ll get a look at tyre strategies – everyone above Lewis Hamilton in 12th is starting on mediums, while the Briton starts on hard tyres, looking at a later pit stop than those ahead of him on the grid. Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda are also starting on hards. It’s sunny and a balmy 23 degrees at Imola, with a record 240,000 crowd in attendance.
Pre-race thoughts from Lando Norris: “I just want to have a fun race and to try and get forward and do some overtakes, I’m still aiming for a podium and a good result.” Imola is a famously tricky track for overtaking, so Norris will be looking to make an early move.
And George Russell, who starts one place ahead of Norris in third: The aim has definitely got to be the podium, how we achieve that I’m not too sure. We need to see at the beginning, obviously Lando is starting behind and I will do my best to keep him there.”
Lewis Hamilton is enjoying his first race in Italy as a Ferrari driver, even if their car is badly underperforming. “It’s such an honour to be here, I’m filming everything because it’s the first time seeing everyone here,” Hamilton said. “I really want to give [the fans]. the best race possible today. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, so I will take that energy and keep pushing. We never give up and we’re going to get there.”
Ollie Bearman is the back marker on the grid, but Haas have asked the FIA for written clarification of the decision that saw their driver just miss out on a place in Q2. Bearman had his fastest lap deleted when he crossed the line a fraction after the first qualifying session was stopped due to Franco Colapinto’s heavy crash.
Haas said they had sought clarification after discussions with the FIA on Saturday night. “We similarly asked what measures the FIA/Race Control can put in place moving forward to ensure that this situation is avoided in the future to the benefit of F1,” the team added, in quotes reported by Reuters.
The FIA said Bearman crossed the line 3.3 seconds after the red flag signal was shown but the driver said he had not seen a light. “We get the red light on our dash. That for me didn’t happen until quite a way after I crossed the line,” he said. “I feel like once they make a decision, even if it’s clearly wrong, they’re not going to turn back on it.”
Colapinto, who has replaced Jack Doohan in the Alpine paddock, picked up a one-place grid penalty for inadvertently entering the pit fast lane too early after Yuki Tsunoda’s crash. The Argentinian will now start in 16th place.
Imola’s Formula One history is tinged with tragedy, and the circuit’s future looks uncertain with no deal agreed beyond this year – but it has still delivered some extraordinary moments:
The grid
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Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
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Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
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George Russell (Mercedes)
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Lando Norris (McLaren)
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Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
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Carlos Sainz (Williams)
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Alex Albon (Williams)
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Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
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Isack Hadjar (RacingBulls)
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Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
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Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
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Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
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Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
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Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
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Liam Lawson (RacingBulls)
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Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
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Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber)
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Esteban Ocon (Haas)
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Oliver Bearman (Haas)
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Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – pit lane
Preamble
Welcome to Imola, where Oscar Piastri continues his world title tilt on pole after just pipping the defending champion, Max Verstappen, in qualifying. The Thunder from Down Under (as I’m christening Piastri in the hope it catches on) has won four of the season’s first six races, including the last three in Bahrain, Jeddah and Miami.
The Australian appears to have overtaken Lando Norris as McLaren’s leading man, but can he continue his red-hot grand prix form as F1 begins its European swing? Norris has endured another frustrating weekend trailing his teammate, and starts fourth on the grid today, with Mercedes’ George Russell alongside him in third.
Verstappen, pole-sitter in the last two races but beaten by Piastri, will be eager to respond in kind with a third straight win at Imola; his Red Bull teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, starts from the pit lane after a big crash in qualifying. Aston Martin impressed, with Fernando Alonso fifth and Lance Stroll eighth, sandwiching the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
As for Ferrari, returning to home turf has been a chastening experience, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both failing to make it out of Q2 and starting 11th and 12th today. Can they give fans at Imola anything to cheer, or will Italy have to start claiming Piastri as one of their own? We’ll find out soon enough; lights out at 2pm BST.
