Leading the race from almost start to finish, Max Verstappen impressed with an incredibly dominant victory at the F1 Imola GP.
After taking the lead from Oscar Piastri on Lap 1, Verstappen managed to sail away without any threat from his competitors throughout the race.
Dominant win after struggling in practice
Starting the race on the front row, Verstappen was soon under threat by Norris and Russell who both had strong starts. Initially slow off the line, Verstappen explained how his move to overtake Piastri for the lead on the opening lap was his key to success.
“The start itself wasn’t particularly great, but then I was still on the outside line—or basically the normal line—and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just going to try and send it around the outside.’ And it worked really well. That, of course, then unleashed our pace, because once we were in the lead, the car was good. I could look after my tyres and we had very good pace on it today.”
Although a familiar dominant win for Verstappen and Red Bull, the weekend has not been without its challenges.
Throughout practice sessions for the Imola GP, Verstappen has been consistently behind the McLarens. The race itself also had its fair share of challenges with safety cars making race strategy unpredictable. Verstappen shared his thoughts on the multiple challenging aspects of the race and weekend overall.
“Massive improvement from Friday, and I’m very, very pleased with that. Then that VSC was quite handy to pit. And even then, even on the Hard compound, I think our pace was very strong. But then, of course, there was a Safety Car, so the field was all back together.
“But even then, on the restart, I think we managed it all really well and, yeah, brought it home. Incredibly proud of everyone. It’s been a very important week for us. The car has performed really well. And also, I think the whole execution of the race—when to pit, the pit stops themselves—they were all very good.”
Are McLaren still faster than Red Bull?
Both McLaren drivers have been able to extract consistently good results so far in 2025. For Red Bull, Verstappen has been the only driver managing to race at the front as Lawson and Tsunoda both have struggled.
Having won the Imola GP in such a dominant fashion, Verstappen responded to whether his victory means that the Red Bull is actually faster than the McLaren car.
“I think it’s very track specific. I mean, every time that we have been really competitive, it’s been high-speed tracks, high-speed corners. We still have work to do, but I do think it’s been a very positive weekend for us. Of course, we brought upgrades. I think they worked. Friday was very difficult still, but then I think we found a better set-up for Saturday. And I just hope that we can use that a bit more often because it definitely brought the car in a better window. Now, that was here.”
Pure speed was not the only contributing factor to Verstappen’s victory. A brave move on Piastri on the opening lap gave Verstappen the lead and allowed him to race at his own pace. The Dutch driver reflected on a slower launch which then turned into an opportunity to take the lead.
“I was quite far back. At the time before braking, I was basically in P3. But, of course, I was on the normal braking line, but I still had to come from far. And as soon as I braked late and then came off the brakes, I felt like, okay, there might be a move on. So, I just carried the speed in. And, luckily, it basically was sticking. It’s not an easy move to make, but luckily, everything went well.”
Another Verstappen victory at Imola
Verstappen’s victory at the 2025 Imola GP marks his fourth consecutive win at the circuit. With such an impressive record, Verstappen shared his key for such success.
“I don’t know. I mean, I love driving here, but at the end of the day, you’re still bound to what you get, right, with your car. Now I think the last few years our car has always been working really well here. Of course, before I got here this weekend, I didn’t really have a lot of hope that we could actually win a race here. But then I think from yesterday onwards, the car was more competitive over one lap and luckily also today. So, yeah. I definitely enjoy driving here, but at the same time, the car has to work as well, you know, to be able to do this.”
As the Imola circuit reaches the end of its Formula 1 contract, it appears that this is the last time these drivers will visit this circuit. With such a strong record at this track, Verstappen shared his feelings towards losing a classic race track from the calendar.
“Losing these kind of tracks is a shame. I get it from F1’s side of things, of course — the new tracks that we are going to. So, yeah, you have to see it from a sportive side and a financial side, right? If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it.
“For me, of course, personally, when I just speak about the enjoyment of driving, it’s these kind of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general — in go-karting even, because you have the same thing in karting where some tracks are more special than others.
“When you started watching Formula 1, there were always these few tracks where you just… I don’t know, you look at the speeds, you look at how difficult they are to master. The history of the sport at certain tracks. You know, it’s all very special and gives you a bit more emotion to things. So, yeah, it’s definitely a shame for me personally, but what can I do about it?”
Mixed feelings for the rest of the triple header
Formula 1 will soon head to Monaco for the second race of this European triple-header.
Though Verstappen has had success there in the past, Charles Leclerc achieved the top step of the podium last year on his home soil. The reigning World Champion struggled throughout the weekend and only managed P6. Verstappen shared what weaknesses the Red Bull will be exposed to at Monaco.
“I do think again, you know, this track [Imola] has quite a few high-speed corners, which I think our car likes. I also think we took a step forward with the setup of the car, which helps. Monaco is, of course, very, very different. So, let’s see how we are going to perform there. You know, last year was very difficult for us. I don’t expect it to be a lot easier this time around because there’s, of course, a lot of low speed, but we’ll see.
“I mean, it’s just one race on the calendar, where you try to do the best you can. Even after that, there’s a lot of races left, but, of course, you can clearly see that once we go to high-speed tracks and corners, then we are more competitive.”
After Monaco, the drivers will race in Barcelona, which the Dutch driver believes should be more suited to the Red Bull.
“I love driving in Monaco, but it’s not been our strongest track with the car that we have. But we’ll see what we can do. And then we go to Barcelona — normally, a lot of high-speed corners, which is great. A lot of tyre deg as well, which again will be crucial to master. And I don’t know, of course, how that is going to work for us at the moment. But, for now, just very happy with this weekend, and we just go from there.”
