F1 Imola GP 2024 LIVE: Race results, standings and updates as Max Verstappen holds off Lando Norris
Verstappen wins from pole at the Emilia Romagna GP despite Norris’ late surge for the win
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Max Verstappen held off a dramatic Lando Norris fightback to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen crossed the line just 0.725 seconds clear of Norris in Imola to take his fifth victory from the seven rounds so far.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, one place ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with Carlos Sainz fifth. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished sixth and seventh respectively for Mercedes.
Verstappen looked to be on course to claim a comfortable win, but Norris’ superb charge in the closing stages left the Dutchman sweating inside his all-conquering Red Bull. After the sole round of pit-stops, Verstappen held a steady lead of around six seconds, but a turgid race suddenly came alive when Verstappen could offer little response to Norris’ speed.
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Lando Norris ‘hurts’ after finishing behind Max Verstappen: ‘I would have had him’
Lando Norris felt he needed just one more lap to beat Max Verstappen in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The British driver finished only 0.725 seconds behind Verstappen in Imola as a turgid race sensationally came alive in the closing laps.
After the sole round of pit-stops, Verstappen looked set to canter to the chequered flag, but Norris – fresh from his maiden win in Miami a fortnight ago – launched a brilliant late surge.
With five laps remaining, Norris was within 1.5 seconds off Verstappen, and as they entered the 63rd and final tour here, the Red Bull was a mere nine tenths up the road.
But despite Norris’s herculean efforts, he came up agonisingly short of a second win in as many races.
Lando Norris ‘hurts’ after finishing behind Max Verstappen: ‘I would have had him’
Verstappen looked set to canter to the chequered flag, but Norris launched a brilliant late surge
Constructors’ standings after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix:
1. Red Bull - 268 points
2. Ferrari - 212 points
3. McLaren - 154 points
4. Mercedes - 79 points
5. Aston Martin - 44 points
6. RB - 20 points
7. Haas - 7 points
8. Alpine - 1 point
9. Williams - 0 points
10. Sauber - 0 points
Driver Standings after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix:
1. Max Verstappen - 161 points
2. Charles Leclerc - 113 points
3. Sergio Perez - 107 points
4. Lando Norris - 101 points
5. Carlos Sainz - 93 points
6. Oscar Piastri - 53 points
7. George Russell - 44 points
8. Lewis Hamilton - 35 points
9. Fernando Alonso - 33 points
10. Yuki Tsunoda - 15 points
11. Lance Stroll - 11 points
12. Oliver Bearman - 6 points
13. Nico Hulkenberg - 6 points
14. Daniel Ricciardo - 5 points
15. Esteban Ocon - 1 point
16. Kevin Magnussen - 1 point
17. Alex Albon - 0 points
18. Zhou Guanyu - 0 points
19. Pierre Gasly - 0 points
20. Valtteri Bottas - 0 points
21. Logan Sargeant - 0 points
Race report: Max Verstappen holds off charging Lando Norris to take victory in Imola
Max Verstappen held off a dramatic Lando Norris fightback to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen crossed the line just 0.725 seconds clear of Norris in Imola to take his fifth victory from the seven rounds so far.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, one place ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with Carlos Sainz fifth. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished sixth and seventh respectively for Mercedes.
Verstappen looked to be on course to claim a comfortable win, but Norris’ superb charge in the closing stages left the Dutchman sweating inside his all-conquering Red Bull.
After the sole round of pit-stops, Verstappen held a steady lead of around six seconds, but a turgid race suddenly came alive when Verstappen could offer little response to Norris’ speed.
Full piece below:
Max Verstappen holds off charging Lando Norris to take victory in Imola
The Red Bull driver claimed his fifth win in seven races this season but was forced to work hard for it as Norris showed brilliant pace late on
Red Bull boss Christian Horner:
“Lando was coming on very strong! He started to catch us very quickly. The cars are converging, they’re becoming very similar. It’s always going to happen when you’ve got stable rules.
“On Friday night, we were thinking second row would be a good result. The team collectively have done a great job this weekend! Max was pushed very hard by Lando, two guys at the top of their game, like Tyson Fury last night, fantastic racing!
“Things don’t stand still in Formula 1, we’ve won five of the seven races but McLaren and Ferrari have made a step, we’re going to need that rate of development coming through.
“Monaco, completely different venue. Qualifying, race is won virtually on Saturday.”
Time for the podium!
Back to the familiar combo - the Dutch and Austrian national anthems to celebrate Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s victory!
Quite the scene at Imola, with thousands of fans on the track! Needless to say, biggest cheer was for Charles Leclerc’s appearance on the podium!
Leclerc, incidentally, now moves past Sergio Perez and up to P2 in the drivers’ championship!
Charles Leclerc after his first podium at Imola:
“At least it’s a podium, I’m only very happy when I win. We didn’t quite make it. I tried to push to put pressure on Lando but they were incredibly quick.
“It’s looking good for the rest of the season. Monaco is going to be very special of course, as special as here in Imola. A lot of red!”
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