Anthony Davidson blown away by ‘extreme’ feat Max Verstappen and Red Bull achieved at Imola to beat McLaren

Max Verstappen managed to produce a vital performance at Imola to win his second race of the 2025 Formula 1 season for Red Bull.

The reigning champion managed to slice the deficit in the drivers’ championship to just 22 points after Oscar Piastri finished third for McLaren.

Verstappen seized the initiative off the start and swept around the outside of Piastri and never looked back, building a lead and managing the race through two safety car periods (including one virtual).

For Red Bull, it’s an encouraging sign after bringing much-needed upgrades to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which appear to have helped improve their car.

Piastri knows how to battle Verstappen on track after spending some more time at the front of the pack this season.

Verstappen got frustrated at Red Bull in Imola after finding great difficulty in setting his car up during Friday’s practice sessions.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen hints at what Red Bull are now doing behind the scenes after FIA cleared McLaren brakes

Anthony Davidson praises Max Verstappen and Red Bull for ‘extreme’ turnaround in Imola

The early signs were not so encouraging in Italy, as Verstappen finished seventh during first practice in Italy.

Fans would be forgiven for presuming that yet another wave of developments had not been successful, but once dialled in, they seemed promising.

Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson spotted one ‘extreme’ feat in Imola, and credited Red Bull for their super turnaround from Friday.

“They have come here to Imola once again. Turned their car around completely from the Friday to the Saturday. The race pace of that car today was extreme.

“Not any better than the McLaren, Lando was catching at one point in the race, but it’s not what we were led to believe on Friday.

“It wasn’t all about the start, although the more I look at it, the precision of that [move from Verstappen] was epic.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen hit out at ‘stupid’ format F1 once used at Imola and it hasn’t been seen since

Is Oscar Piastri still the F1 title favourite ahead of Max Verstappen in 2025?

Verstappen has been urged to ‘let’ McLaren do one thing and let their drivers distract themselves by battling each other.

Imola is a demanding track and is usually indicative of a good car. As the European season progresses, their performance may grow.

They’ll be hoping that in the development race, they can outpace McLaren and keep up towards the end of the campaign.

It was one of the things that gave the Woking-based outfit half an opportunity to fight for the title last year in the first place.

Neither Piastri nor Norris are going to spare an inch, so Yuki Tsunoda could do with helping his teammate out and backing him up in the fight.