IMOLA: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a wet-dry Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to resurrect his title aspirations, as challenger Charles Leclerc squandered third place with a costly error.

Ferrari’s Leclerc, who was thrusting to move past Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez after a late pit stop, lost control at the Variante Alta chicane here, which eventually denied him the podium at Emilia Romagna.

Leclerc then had to pit for a new front wing and tyres which resulted in him falling to the ninth place, from which he could only recover to sixth at the end.

After turning his pole position from Saturday’s race into a lead at the first bend, Verstappen was in complete command.

Despite the tough conditions, the late drama enlivened what had been the most uneventful race of the season thus far, as Verstappen stayed unchallenged throughout the race.

His teammate Sergio Perez, on the other hand, also carried on his exceptional stint as he finished second to get his second podium of the season. Whereas McLaren’s Lando Norris made the most of Leclerc’s blunder as he claimed the third position and his first podium of the season.

 

Following a comprehensive victory, Verstappen managed to cut the margin between him and Ferrari’s Leclerc from 45 points to 27, moving three places up to secure the second position on the leaderboard – led by Leclerc with 86 points.

Verstappen finished the weekend with a total of 34 points after posting the fastest lap and winning the sprint race on Saturday. It was Red Bull’s first one-two finish since the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2016.

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