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
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
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.
Follow latest updates from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with The Independent
Driver Standings ahead of the race today:
1. Max Verstappen - 136 points
2. Sergio Perez - 103 points
3. Charles Leclerc - 98 points
4. Lando Norris - 83 points
5. Carlos Sainz - 83 points
6. Oscar Piastri - 41 points
7. George Russell - 37 points
8. Fernando Alonso - 33 points
9. Lewis Hamilton - 27 points
10. Yuki Tsunoda -14 points
11. Lance Stroll - 9 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
Lewis Hamilton would like to see teenager Kimi Antonelli replace him at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton has called on Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to replace him with 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton will leave a vacant seat at the Silver Arrows when he joins Ferrari in 2025.
Wolff has flirted with Max Verstappen while Carlos Sainz – making way for Hamilton at Ferrari – is also a contender for the seat.
“Carlos is a great driver so wherever he goes he would be a positive for any team,” said Hamilton ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.
“I have no idea what Toto’s plans are, but for me, if it was my job and my role, I would take on a youngster, and I would take on Kimi.”
Lewis Hamilton would like to see teenager Kimi Antonelli replace him at Mercedes
Antonelli, who turns 18 in August, has recently tested Mercedes machinery in Austria and Imola.
Starting grid for F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Carlos Sainz
5. Oscar Piastri*
6. George Russell
7. Yuki Tsunoda
8. Lewis Hamilton
9. Daniel Ricciardo
10. Nico Hulkenberg
11. Sergio Perez
12. Esteban Ocon
13. Lance Stroll
14. Alex Albon
15. Pierre Gasly
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Zhou Guanyu
19. Fernando Alonso
20. Logan Sargeant
*Piastri was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Magnussen in qualifying
Start time for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix:
The race starts at 2pm (BST).
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 12:30pm (BST).
F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix!
Max Verstappen saw off McLaren’s challenge to match Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive pole positions for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
At the Imola venue which claimed Senna’s life 30 years ago, Verstappen’s drew level with the great Brazilian.
Oscar Piastri took second for McLaren – just 0.074 seconds behind Verstappen – with Lando Norris, who broke his duck in Miami a fortnight ago, only 0.091 sec adrift. However, Piastri was dropped three places for Sunday’s grid after blocking Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in Q1.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with George Russell sixth – half-a-second behind – and two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
F1 qualifying report: Max Verstappen sees off McLaren challenge at Imola to match Ayrton Senna’s pole record
Max Verstappen saw off McLaren’s challenge to match Ayrton Senna’s record of eight consecutive pole positions for Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
At the Imola venue which claimed Senna’s life 30 years ago, Verstappen’s drew level with the great Brazilian.
Oscar Piastri took second for McLaren – just 0.074 seconds behind Verstappen – with Lando Norris, who broke his duck in Miami a fortnight ago, only 0.091 sec adrift.
However, Piastri could face a grid penalty for blocking Haas’s Kevin Magnussen in Q1.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with George Russell sixth – half-a-second behind – and two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen sees off McLaren challenge at Imola to match Senna’s pole record
At the Imola venue which claimed Senna’s life 30 years ago, Verstappen’s drew level with the great Brazilian.
Lando Norris:
“P3 is not a bad job at all, within a tenth of P1, tiny margins! We’ve had a very good weekend so far, exciting - we’re close, can’t wait for tomorrow.
“We’re getting closer, to be ahead of Ferrari is a nice result for us. It’s going to be close and a good race tomorrow. It’s tough when the lap times are so tight, it will be a tough race.”
Oscar Piastri:
“Scruffy last corner but really happy, I’ve been really comfortable with the car. Very close to the pole but it’s been a little while since I’ve been up there.
“We’ll see what we can do, we’ve been on the pace all weekend. You can’t count out Max and Red Bull as we’ve seen but confidence is high.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies